I Am What I Am
by MoonlitMeeting
Summary: She was lost at sea as a baby but got 7 older monstrous brothers in exchange. No they really are monsters and so is her "dad". Inspired by the stories told by the Old Man who also raised her she decides to leave the island and start her own adventure. Did I mention she has poor people skills and does not consider herself human and thinks they're weird? Look out world here she comes
1. Beginning: Crash Landing and an Escape

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or the canon parts of the story. All credit goes to Eiichiro Oda. I do one my OCs and parts of the plot.**

**AN/ Okay this is my first is my first One Piece fan fiction, I'm trying to be original with the plot and my OC and I hope I'm not making her a Mary Sue. Please review and let me know what you think, I welcome constructive criticism; I want to improve my writing!**

**The Beginning: Crash Landing and an Escape**

A black sea churned violently, threatening to capsize the small merchant vessel. The Grand Line was living up to its reputation of having the most unpredictable, brutal storms seen in any of the seas, except perhaps the New World. The ships navigator stood by the helm with the helmsman and captain valiantly trying to keep the ship on course.

_It's no use. _ He thought hopelessly, the needle in their Log Pose was pointed at the starboard side of the ship and changed its direction every so often. The best they could do was survive the storm and get back on course later.

The ship's captain was staring out at the churning waters hoping against hope to see an island where they could weather the storm and find wood to repair their ship if needed, and it wasn't only the lives of him and his crew at risk this time.

In the privacy of his mind the captain cursed to family hiding below deck, wishing he had never agreed to take them onboard. The man had offered a handsome sum for their passage and his greed had gotten the better of him. He truly did not mind the man it was the man's wife that made him hesitate.

Why oh why had he let her set foot on his ship money or no money? Everyone knew it was bad luck to have a woman aboard at sea! Oh but the money and the man had pleaded with him so, only to the next island he said I have family there. He wanted them to see their little niece.

Curse that wicked girl as well grouched the captain as the ship gave a particularly sharp turn, nearly rolling onto its back. That blasted man had held up that thrice damned brat to his face and she'd stared at him with those two big brown eyes. All round rosy cheeks and giggles topped with fuzzy brown hair. It was enough to melt any mans' heart.

That in itself was odd, unless they were in the Navy, pirates, or merchants like himself most Grand Line natives preferred to stay on the island they were born on till the day they died. Perhaps he had some seafarer's blood in him it was potent stuff.

The ship churned again, this time throwing the captain against the railing. As he gripped it tightly in his hands to keep himself from going overboard he looked up to see his prayers answered.

"Land Ho!" he bellowed, fresh hope returning his strength.

With no small amount of effort the helmsman was able to steer the ship towards the island, but in the dark and pouring rain they did not see the danger ahead until it was too late. The storm had not only stirred up the waves but the currents as well. The ship was swept up and driven towards several jagged rocks with alarming speed.

The helmsman held on to the wheel so tight his knuckles turn white, veins and muscles bulging from his arms as he tried to turn the ship away with all his might. It was all in vain.

The ship crashed into the rain slicked rocks with such force that it became airborne; it flew up the slope formed by the rocks as if they were a ramp. The sharp edges tore away at the ship's belly and broke its keel as it passed over. It flew onto the beach where it crashed into the mercifully soft sands and slid to a stop just shy of another formation of larger jagged rock.

All was still in and on the ship even as the storm raged on around it. A single figure moved on the ship's deck after a time. Slowly, painfully they forced themselves up, using what remained of the ravaged ship's railing to support themselves.

It was the captain, he lived but he was not unscathed. His left arm was twisted and hung limply at his side. His leg had piece of the deck rammed in it in addition to various other scrapes and the rest of him was black and blue.

Half mad already with pain and a blow to the head he looked around at the remains of his once proud ship the Sapphire Breeze. The longer he looked, the more he saw the more an irrational rage burned inside him.

He saw his helmsman impaled on the wheel, his hands still gripping it. He saw the remains of rails were a piece a ship's hull had fallen off from the impact of land on the beach. He saw the mast on the lower had fallen over onto the beach, snapped above the Mast Step (AN: This is the joint used to hold the mast in place.).

"AAAAAAAHHHRRRRGGG!"

He let out an anguished cry before limping towards the stairs that led below deck, sword drawn, madness in his eyes. _I'll kill'em, I'll kill them all, that bastard, his unlucky bitch and that brat._

**(AN: I know it is very unlikely anyone would survive something like this, but this is One Piece they bend and break physical laws everyday like it's going out of style.)**

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Below Deck a Little While Ago

In a small storage room below deck was a family of three hiding from the storm. Was the husband, and new father, named Dill; he currently had his arms wrapped around his wife and child, trying to keep the rocking movements of the ship from thrusting them into a wall.

He had chosen this particular store room to weather the in because it was filled with this strange spongy white stuff that made him think of clouds. He was sure that it would help protect if the sea got too rough.

The ship gave another lurch which sent them sprawling onto a pile of the strange but plush substance. "Waahhh!" the baby gave a cry in protest to the sudden movement and her mother Maribelle hushed her.

"There, there sweet child it won't last forever and when it's over you'll get to meet your grandma and grandpa. Won't that be fun?" she cooed at her baby soothingly. The baby, Layla, calmed down, still sniffling a bit.

"That a girl, no crying over nothing. You're going to be big and strong just like your daddy." Dill said. Both were fearful of the storm, and though they knew Layla couldn't understand them speaking to her helped to keep them calm.

The man looked up when he heard a muffled shout from above, mostly drowned out by the roar of the storm. They slid to the other side of the room as the ship began to turn. Dill oriented himself so that his wife and child were in front of him and braced himself in a corner surrounded by what he had dubbed cloud fluff.

It was the only that saved them. He couldn't even remember exactly what happened but moments later the ship leaped beneath them. All he could hear was the breaking of wood and the screams of his family.

They were thrown up and landed on the cloud fluff as the ship crashed. Layla was crying again as they laid there dazed and sore by what had happened. Dill regained his senses first and stood up. He looked around and gaped at the hole in the wall were he and his family had been earlier.

Already chilled by how close they had come to death he cautiously moved to the door to peer out. What he saw brought him no comfort, dead men lay in the wreckage. Parts of the floor had fallen through and he could the sandy ground beneath the ship. He may not have been a shipwright but he knew that if the keel broke the ship was dead. It didn't look as if there was anything even left of the keel.

He hurried back to check on his wife and child. They were still on the pile of cloud fluff that had saved their lives, and Maribelle was trying to calm Layla's screaming. "You two alright?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"We're fine, shaken more than anything. How does it look out there?" Maribelle asked fearing the worst.

"Not good, the ships in shambles and it looks like most if not all the crew are dead." Dill replied grimly looking down at the floor. It did not look as if they would be leaving anytime soon. The most they could hope for was that this was an inhabited island they could barter passage off of. If not the only ships they could look forward to seeing would be pirate ships, whose crews were not known for their generosity.

He glanced up to see his wife's horrified expression and quickly moved to comfort her. He sat beside her and gathered her in his strong arms, looking into those rich brown eyes he loved so much. "We'll alright you'll see." He whispered softly to her, and looking at their little girl, fast asleep and oblivious to their uncertain future, he continued. "All of us, I'll take care of the both of you just like always."

Maribelle couldn't keep the smile off her face as she gazed back at him, a familiar warmth spreading through her chest as it always did when he was near. That feeling displaced the fear and uncertainty she felt because it was true, he always had taken care of her from the moment they met.

"Come on, we should see if anyone else is still alive and what can be salvaged from the ship, we probably lost a lot of it when we hit whatever it was we hit, but there still be something useable." Dill said as he stood back up. Maribelle was quick to gather Layla in her arms and follow him out into what remained of the hallway. As they left they heard an anguished cry over the storm filtering through the hole in the ship's hull.

"Looks like else did survive, but they must be hurt real bad." Maribelle murmured, both concerned and a touch fearful. Something had been off about that cry, it sounded pained to be sure, but there had been something off about it that made her think of a crazed animal.

"They probably need help, come on it sounded like it came from the deck." Dill continued on, weaving his way through the wreckage while looking for anything that might be useful, but trying not to look too closely at any stray bodies of the crew. There was little to be found as the Sapphire Breeze had been a merchant ship. There were silks, spices, gold, and exotic trinkets aplenty, but food and weapons would be much harder to find and were likely lost.

He did find some rope which he now carried coiled at his side as well a sword he found in a cushioned crate that was more likely meant to be used as decoration than a weapon. The storm was finally starting to abate and the rain and winds began to cease their howling. As it did so he began to hear something else.

_DRAAAG, THUMP, DRAAAG, THUMP._

He raised his hand in Maribelle's direction to stop and silence her while he listened. Someone was coming, a survivor! He thought happily, it was short lived when they began to shout. "I know you're here you bastards! You're dead when I find you! You hear me dead! You'll pay for this, all of this!"

Dill swiftly turned to look at his wife to find she had gone white as a sheet. They both recognized that voice, it was the captain and he had clearly gone mad. They had to escape; there was no question about it. They raced back to the room they had previously found shelter in. Upon arriving they stopped. They could climb or jump down out of the hole and be fine but what about Layla?

Dill was quick to come up with a solution as the crazed captain's calls grew nearer. He took some canvas he found in the hallway and lined it with cloud fluff. He carefully tied the rope around to make a kind of cloth basket to lower Layla down in. He had Maribelle climb down first with the leftover rope tied to an exposed plank. He followed after lowering Layla down to her. As they raced off towards the rocky area that surrounded the outside of the island they didn't see the captain watching them from the hole they'd just escaped through.

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**AN: Alright let me know what you think. The first few chapters might be kinda slow because I'm giving my character some background. I had to give some background information right off the bat because of what I'm going to do with/to her. If have any questions about this chapter or I wasn't clear about something let know and I'll try to explain****. NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT! If you want me to speed things up I can alternate the first few chapters between the future where she goes off and starts her adventures and the past when she grows up and you see how and why she turned out the way she did but you have to let me know what you want. PLEASE REVIEW**.


	2. Departure:Had to Leave the Nest Sometime

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or the canon parts of the story. All credit goes to Eiichiro Oda. I do one my OCs and parts of the plot.**

**AN(READ THIS):**** Since no one who reviewed my last chapter told me whether or not they wanted me to alternate my chapters between the past and present I decided to do so to help move things along and pick up the story's pace.**

**Chapters that take place in the past will have ****The Beginning**** in the title I can't promise I will always do them every other chapter, but you will get Layla's full origin story. Some things may be a little confusing at first but it'll all be explained eventually and I will give little tidbits of her past in present day chapters so they're a little easier to understand.**

**Also I didn't mention this in my last chapter but this story is rated M mostly for violence, some language, and nudity. (****PLEASE REVIEW!)**

**AN2(READ THIS):****I went back over and changed some things, did some more editing and revised. It longer now and includes a scene with Fierce's family after she leaves.**

A special thanks goes to** Copykat2 **for adding my story to their alert lists and to** Kai **my only reviewer. That made me happy and gave me much needed motivation to keep this story going.

"normal speech"

_Thoughts_

"_**Beast speech"**_

Departure, Had to Leave the Nest Sometime[REVISED]

A girl of 19 stood with one foot on top of a rock, her forearm resting on its knee, on a cliff looking with a wicked grin out at the ocean surrounding the island. Many such rock formations circled the outer rim of Savage Island creating a sort of foreboding barrier between the beach and the heart of the island. The inner part of the island was a mix of large ancient trees, mountains, valleys, boulders, and smaller trees and shrubs.

An air of excitement and anticipation hung around her causing her reddish brown eyes to gleam. Today was the day she would set out on her own adventure, to start her own story just like the ones Old Man was always telling her. Speaking of she needed to go see him to make sure everything was ready for their departure. With that thought in mind she stood up to her full height and ran off into the forest.

The Old Man didn't live in the forest; he'd be dead if he did. He lived in a cave on the beach by the bones of an old ship wreck where they had gotten some of the supplies to build their own ship. They'd managed to do this without her brothers or father knowing over the last few years.

_They are so over protective_. She thought with a scowl as she cut her way through the inland to the Old Man's beach. They meant well, she knew they did, but she needed her space and she had to leave the nest sometime, even though she would miss curling up on top of the pile her brothers made when they slept and the warmth it provided she had to grow up sometime.

There were a lot of things she would miss when she left. Like scaring the hell out of helpless plant eaters and lesser carnivores, and razing parts of the forest to the ground when she and her big brothers wrestled. Not to mention demolishing any pirate crew unlucky enough to have a Log Pose that led them to Savage Island, now that was good wholesome family fun. Almost as much fun as raiding their ships for shiny or interesting objects pirates usually had in abundance.

She wouldn't miss the way her brothers always teased her when she lost every single time they wrestled, or about how small she was. She could certainly due without the way the way squished her when they rolled over in their sleep and all the times they had smacked her into a rock or tree with their tails when she was "_being to noisy."_ Jerks.

She had another motive for leaving as well; she wanted to see if there was anyone else like her out there. In spite of her brothers and father insisting she had come out of egg just they had she didn't look a thing like them. She was a lot smaller than them too, more so than any runt had a right to be. She looked more like the Old Man, a human, in over all shape and body type. She sometimes wondered if the egg she hatched out of was from a different monsters nest and if she was adopted. _Nah._ They'd have told her if she was, they wouldn't lie to her like that.

She really did look odd compared to them though. She walked on two legs with feet that had five toes each instead of four with paws that had massive curved claws. Her front teeth weren't sharp fangs, those started from her canines to her molars and those weren't nearly as impressive as her families. She didn't have any scales, she didn't even have any wings to fly with, but brothers did let her ride on their backs to make her better, it only made her envious. She was just like the character from one of the stories the Old Man told her in comparison to her family. What was it called again, oh yeah! "The Ugly Duckling", but she doubted that she would ever be a swan. She'd already stopped growing while her brothers just kept on getting bigger.

But she was different from the Old Man too. She had what he called skin but what bruised and broke his skin had little or no effect on her. His nails were clear and didn't hook slightly at the ends the way hers did and they broke as easily as his bones. If one of her brothers ever decided to smack him he'd be reduced to a pulp, their blows mostly just made her sore, really really sore. He was pretty weak altogether; she could have snapped him half.

A growl from her stomach stopped her wondering thoughts. _Lunch time._ She thought as she licked her lips, looking around as she ran and leapt through the rocky forest in search of a potential meal. She stopped when she spotted a familiar fruit tree; it would do to for an appetizer at least. Another thing that separated her from her family, not counting the Old Man, she liked fruit and they wanted nothing to do with it.

She walked up to the base of the massive gnarled tree, brought her fist back and punched its trunk so hard the whole tree shivered and shook. She watch with great satisfaction as only the ripened fruits fell to ground. She felt her mouth water as picked up the odd looking fruit. It was narrow and red at the top but had faded to a yellow bulb at the bottom. The skin was tough but the meat inside was sweet and juicy and she ate it with relish.

As she sat munching on her fruit a large shadow, about the size of a small elephant crept up on her, hidden by the dense shrubbery. It eyed her carefully gauging the distance between them as it prepared to pounce on what it thought was an easy meal. Poor thing had no clue what it was getting into.

The moment it burst from the bushes the girl was already turning around to meet it. She'd heard it coming but had chosen to ignore in favor of her snack, hoping it would be smart enough to leave her alone. She charged it head on with a roar, that while not as impressive as that of many of the beasts that called Savage Island their home, but should not have been possible for human vocals to produce. Her fist met its face with a crack and sent it flying into another tree.

It stood up slowly, shaking itself to clear its head before turning to the girl snarling. She in turn snorted at it, unimpressed with its display. It wasn't like her brothers or father, it was just a dumb beast incapable of communicating anything other than meaningless growls and roars. It was an ugly thing to boot, with its scaly hunched back, patches of misplaced fur dotted its hide here and there. Its back legs were like that of a frog's and looked too big for it, while its fore legs seemed to small. Its face looked like a flatted wolf's head full over sized teeth that didn't properly fit in its mouth.

Many such mismatched beasts roamed the island, they were lowly animals fit only eat those even lower than they, and to be eaten by those above them. He may have been ugly but he'd fill her stomach quite nicely. The island's food chain and hierarchy was pretty straight forward. At the bottom were animals that didn't eat meat at all. Above them were the meat eaters. Above them were larger meat eaters like the one in front of her. It went on like this for a few levels, after that it was slightly more complicated.

Towards the top of the pyramid were predators capable of thought and planning which made them slightly better than mindless animals. The next level up had beasts actually capable of complex thought processes and speaking in their own tongue. Which sounded like grunts, roars and growls but these had meaning and were not to be confused with the sounds of the made by bottom feeders. At the very top were beasts that could do all that and were strong enough to claim and keep a section of the island for their own use. Like her family, and now that that's cleared up back to the fighting.

The monster leapt at her again, this time she jumped up as well. While the creature went for distance she went for height. As it passed under her she curled her legs in then kicked them back out, land a hit on the back of its head. It fell to ground in a heap from the force of the blow. Using the extra boost she shot up into the air and caught a tree branch. She swung herself up only to use it as a spring board to launch herself towards her prey.

She slammed back into it just as it was beginning to stand; the impact drove the beast into the ground creating a small crater. It cried out in pain as it bones cracked under her merciless hands. She sent another fist into its skull before pulling a knife from her belt, both of which had been gifts from the Old Man.

It wasn't sharp or strong enough to pierce the hide of most of the island's inhabitance, but it was good enough to gouge out their eyes. This is precisely what she did to the thing's left eye, it let out harrowing shriek as she did so, throwing its head back and shaking it trying to dislodge her from its back.

She held on tight as it did, gripping its patchy fur in one hand, the bloody knife still lodged in its eye in the other. What she did next would have undoubtedly shock, horrified or disgusted members of polite society, but was perfectly acceptable and even expected on an island where it was survival of the fittest and no one had even heard of polite society. She opened her mouth as far as she could to expose her sharpest teeth and dug them into the beasts neck, tearing away at its tough scales to get at the softer flesh beneath.

The beast cried out again, finally getting to its feet and throwing itself to side into a large rock to try and scrape off its attacker. It didn't work; the rough edges of the stone didn't even break her skin, though she grunted at the contact. Having succeeded in removing a satisfactory patch of scales she removed her knife from its eye socket and rammed it into its neck with all the strength she could muster.

It went in deep and she angled it towards the beast's throat. Finally it fell to the ground, still struggling as it grew weaker and weaker from blood loss. Now thoroughly weakened she gripped the sides of head and gave it a violent twist, ending it, when it was finally still she relaxed her grip and removed her knife as she stood up looking and feeling quite proud of herself. The thing had been a bit tough to beat but it had nothing on her older brothers.

"_**ROOOAAAAAAAAARRRR! Fierce that you? What are you up to over there?"**_

And speak of the Devil here comes one of them now. She turned her head towards the noise when she heard the familiar roar. There he was in the air slowly descending to the ground with rhythmic beats of his great wings. It was Blue Snout, her second oldest brother, named for the splattering of blue across his nose as opposed to the rusty red scales that covered the rest of him. Fierce squinted and raised a hand to help shield her eyes from the dust her brother was kicking up.

He landed with a dull crash as he set his considerable weight on the ground, causing it quake momentarily. He easily towered over her, nearly six men high at his brow ridge, and looked down on her, curving his long neck into an S shape. He looked over at the bloody carcass before turning back to her, baring his teeth in a dragon's version of a grin.

"_**You've been having fun without us again." **_He growled playfully. Looking on at his semi adopted, not the she knew that, sister. Fierce seemed too big, too strong a name for one so small, but it truly suited her. They had lost one of their own but had been given Fierce in exchange. He and the others were glad they had not left her to die that night. With a little help she had grown stronger they could have hoped. If only she hadn't stayed so tiny.

"_**I can handle myself, sides not worth your time."**_ She bit back glaring up at him, teeth bared. Blue Snout frowned a bit at her words, not the words themselves but rather at the sound of them. She spoke well enough but some sounds were hard for her make so her speech was sometimes garbled or clumsy.

He wished she would use human speech with them sometimes. Even though she would never admit it he knew that talking this way for too long hurt her throat. He could understand it even if he couldn't speak it, having learned it with her and their brothers from the Old Man. He suspected it was one of the reasons their father had let the human intruder live this long. That and the human had made good argument when he pointed out that none of them had a clue when it came to raising a human child. Eating sure, but not caring for one, though she wasn't exactly human. He had been her teacher in the odd ways of the humans. While he thought it unnecessary their father thought otherwise. His reasoning was that she was not completely one of them but she was also not completely human. If she was to belong to both worlds she would need knowledge of both.

"_**I know you can but I still like to join the fun. Where are going when you're done eating?"**_ He asked. _**"To see the Old Man. Questions, hope for story."**_ He frowned at her reply, he didn't like her spending so much time with the Old Man now that she was older and didn't his lessons anymore. The Old Man was always filling her head with stories of adventures on the high seas, of treasure and pirates. He snorted some smoke through his nostril to show his opinion of her plans.

"_**I like Old Man. No eating him."**_ She snarled at him.

"_**Fine, fine, we'll see you later. Do you want me to cook that for you?"**_ At his inquiry Fierce turned to look to the remains of the beast she had planned on having for lunch, having nearly forgotten about it.

"_**Yes please."**_ She said eagerly, eyes wide and a big smile on her face. She would eat her meat raw if she had to, but she preferred it half cooked and it was faster if one of her brothers did it.

Without another word Blue Snout took a deep breath and spewed raw fire on the creature's corpse. He then dipped into a tense crouch and leaped into the air. _**"Thank you!"**_Fierce shouted at him as he flew away before turning to still smoking meal.

She didn't bother waiting for it cool and dug right in, using her still bloodied knife to cut off chunks of meat which she eagerly devoured. She didn't even bother with chewing, she just tore off chunks small enough to swallow, gets bits of bone to every once in a while. She felt satisfied after eating most of it, and decided to take some of her leftovers to the Old Man.

After wrapping up some meat and fruit in several large leaves she'd taken for nearby bush she set out again making one more side trip. Stopping at a small, really small, cave where she kept a few things that had sentimental meaning to her. These included the first book the Old Man had given her to read on her own which stained and falling apart, a hair bush, a shiny blue stone on a leather cord, and her visiting cloths.

She really didn't know why humans felt the need to cover themselves up the way they did, were they that ashamed of their bodies? Maybe it was for protection since they weren't that strong if the Old Man was anything to go by. But if that was the case why did she have to wear them? She was plenty strong and only wore the belt he gave her because it was convenient.

The Old Man said it was out of modesty, that it was considered impolite to walk around in nothing but your skin and only your spouse, lover, or parents should see you like that. Whatever, humans were weird like that. Really those reasons shouldn't even apply to her since she wasn't human. He was probably uncomfortable because she looked so much like a human. Well it was pretty small sacrifice to be able to visit him so she just went with it.

He had helped her to make her clothes, which were made from the tanned hides of the beasts she had either killed in self defense or because she was hungry. She actually thought it was pretty cool how you used the animals own brain to tan its skin. Her wardrobe consisted of a pair of loose tan shorts that came to her knees. A tight darker brown leather vest held together by a leather cord that laced and tied in the front. She also had a dark purple jacket made of scales that ended at her thighs and hung loosely on her frame.

With her clothes on and her few meager possessions gathered in a bag, also leather, she made her way through the stony maze and onto the beach. The Old Man was waiting for her by his cave holding something in his hands an old worn bag at his side. She ran up to him with a smile that threatened to split her face. She didn't know his real name, before she knew what a human was she had asked him what he was. "I an old man" had been his only reply. Since that day he was the Old Man to her and she rarely called him anything else unless she was mad or making fun of him.

"Is everything ready for us to set sail?" She asked when she finally reached him. He looked at silently with his tired and wise eyes. He had watched over her, been her teacher, read to her, told her stories and watched her grow into the lovely, if violent, young lady she was now. In part it had been guilt that drove him to do it, to try and make up for the mistakes made and damage caused by his former captain.

He remembered seeing her as a baby before and after this island had changed her. Chocolate brown eyes were now tinted red with a thin blue halo around the slightly oval shaped pupil, not really noticeable unless you looked for or she became enraged. When that happened her eyes bled red, yellow and blue, the colors intermingling where they met in a terrifying imitation of fire.

He did not know what happened. All he knew was that she was forever changed by it, sweet little Layla was gone and in her place stood Fierce. She was no longer human and never would be. But neither was she a monster like beings that roamed the island and had helped to raise her. He did not know what she was anymore, but he loved her as grandfather loved their grandchild and he would help her fulfill her dream to leave the island and start her own adventure as much as he was able.

"Yes, we are ready to leave with the tide. Are you sure you don't want to say goodbye? They are going to be very upset with you and with _me_ for helping you." He said after a time when he noticed she was beginning to lose her patients. She looked to ground sadly at that with a touch of regret in her eye.

"They'll understand. I left them a message. Besides they wouldn't let me go if they knew." She muttered sadly. "What do you have there any way?" She asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"This is an Eternal Pose. If you'll recall from your lessons it is the only way to navigate here on the Grand Line beside a Log Pose. I got it from one the pirate ships that lost their crews to jaws of the beasts who dwell here." She nodded in understanding looking at the device curiously. It would only take them to one island but it was a start. She would have preferred an actual Log Pose, but pirates typically carried those where ever they went. So when crews got eaten their Log Poses went down the hatch with them.

"Fierce, I have something else for you, two things to be exact." He said as he pulled something covered in canvas from his bag. Fierce looked at it eagerly, wondering it could be.

"First is a journal, all adventurers should keep one so that others can read about their experiences. And secondly a hair cut if you want one, you are starting a new chapter in your life why not set out with a new look." Fierce happily took the journal but paused to consider his second offer. What he said made sense, but she'd never had her hair cut before, what if it hurt? On the other claw her hair was really long, it brushed her calves while braided and often got in the way.

"Will it hurt?" She asked nervously. Once her brother Charger, her fifth oldest brother, had busted one of his spines and had almost deafened her when he roared in pain.

"You won't feel a thing I promise. I've been cutting my own hair since I got stranded here." He assured her.

After a bit more thought she nodded her consent and sat down on a rock near the entrance to his cave, back stiff. The Old Man came up behind with a pair of somewhat rusty scissors. He undid her braid and made the first cut near her chin. Fierce flinched when the scissors closed but blinked in surprised when she felt nothing. She relaxed and let the Old Man finish cutting her hair, marveling at how much lighter her head felt as he did.

"There all done." He said a while later, stepping back to admire his work. _Not bad, not too bad at all._ He thought looking at the finished product and wishing he had a mirror so Fierce could see it.

The girl in question lifted a hand to feel her hair. It was so much shorter now; it was a bit longer on top and shorter on the side and in the back, likely two to three inches. She had bangs now to. They touched her brow on one side and were above the other on the opposite side. The whole cut was layered and seemed to want to spike in some places. All in all Fierce was quite happy with it.

She gave the Old Man a hug in thanks then raced off to the cave with their bags to finish loading the ship they had hidden there. The Old Man had told her he was once a shipwright and had built the ship with scraps from other ships unlucky enough to land here and from lumber she brought from the island. It had taken a few years but she was ready to sail. She was modest sized ship that could easily be sailed by two people but had plenty of room for food as well as some of that shiny yellow metal gold pirates always seemed to have on their ships. The Old Man told her it was very valuable to humans and was used to barter for goods and services, or exchanged for Beli which they used for the same purposes. Again she didn't get it, if they wanted food could they get their own? That's what she did every day.

With the Old Man's okay she began to push the ship across the beach and into the water, once boarded they let the sails down and were on their way. It was exhilarating, Fierce could hardly contain herself as she stood at the bow of the ship looking out at the ocean and feeling the clean breeze on her face_._ She was leaving, something no one had ever done on her island.

_This must be what flying must feel like for my brothers._ She thought. As though summoned by her thoughts, a series of enraged roars sounded from the island. Eight winged figures appeared in the air but only the largest went out over the water in pursuit of the ship, her father, looks like they found her message sooner than she thought they would.

The Old Man tightened his grip on the wheel; trying to stop his hands from shaking, knowing this was likely his final hour. Fierce had turned around and watched the massive beast approach them with a serious look on her face, legs spread and body tense. Her father made her brothers look like small fry, though to be fair they were still growing. If he tried to take her back she'd fight him, even knowing she would lose.

His shadow covered the ship and he let out a single roar that vibrated the air and ship around them before turning around and heading back to the island. The Old Man collapsed onto the deck clutching his chest, willing for his heart to slow. He had thought he was going to die. _I'm too old for this._ He decided after his heart rate had returned to normal, letting his head fall forward to rest on the wheel in relief.

Fierce had a very different reaction. She had tears in eyes, not of sadness, but of joy. There was no exact translation for what he had said to her but he had given her his blessing and a final farewell. That meant the world to her, her brothers would be angry for a while, but hopefully by the time she came back they'll have forgiven her.

Before he was out of sight she recovered enough to answer with her own roar, a thank you and a promise to return one day. With that she turned around looking forward and refusing to look back until it was time to return home. It was time to start her own adventure.

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**Back on the Island with her family **

"_**Why didn't you bring her back?!"**_ Sharp Bank, the oldest of his sons demanded as soon as his claws touched the ground. Sharp Bank despite being the oldest was the smallest of his, minus Fierce, but was the best flyer. Instead of answering him their Father raised his claw and hit Sharp Bank hard enough to send him sprawling.

"_**Watch your tongue fledging it will be many years yet before you can challenge me."**_ He then turned his attention his remain sons with a warning growl, daring them to try anything. Predictably they were cowed by their Fathers show of dominance, Blue Snout, Red Talon, Sunder, Charger, Broke Fang, and Flare were huddle together with their throats exposed.**(AN: If anyone cares to know I can explain how everyone got their names and what they look like if you haven't already guessed.)**

"_**One day all of you will the nest as well."**_ He said turning his red eyes to the sea, where he could still just see the ship steadily growing smaller.

Turning back to his sons he continued._** "That she has chosen to go beyond the island borders to seek a place for herself is her own choice, we have no right to take it from her."**_

"_**But she's still so small and younger than any of us! How can she be ready to leave already?"**_ Charger dared to ask, sad to see her leave so soon and a touch jealous she was the first to do so.__

"_**She hasn't grown at all in the last two years so she must be done growing, besides females mature faster than males."**_ Was his only explanation as he lumbered off to his favorite sunning rock.

The seven brothers grumbled among themselves knowing better than to incur their father's wrath before looking out to the sea. It would quieter without their sister but they wished her well and hoped that she liked the present that Father gave her from all of them.

To Be Continued….

**AN/ Next chapter will likely be in the present to, if everything goes as planned she will experience her first bar brawl and taste her first alcoholic beverage and possibly meet the Heart Pirates at last or at the very least Bepo. I like Bepo he's cute. Let me know if like this revised version is any better than the original chapter and please let me know whether or not you like this story! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. Overwhelmed, Wierd, Awkward

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or the canon parts of the story. All credit goes to Eiichiro Oda. I do one my OCs and parts of the plot.**

**To Lazy To Login****: HAHAHA, I actually planned for her to see Bepo as a possible meal! Great minds think a like I guess. And don't worry there won't be any love at first sight in this story and will be a long time coming. They're going to have to get their acts together first, this not going to be a lovey dovey romance either for two main reasons. 1) Law is not a romantic; he's a sadistic, ruthless pirate. 2) Fierce wouldn't know what the hell he was doing if he tried to be overly affectionate. **

**Chocolatluver4ever**: **Thanks! I think that Kid would like her to and I'll try to keep the stories pace a little slow.**

**Gorillaz Angel**: **Thank you, I'm glad you like my story**

"normal speech"

_Thoughts_

"_**Beast speech"**_

Overwhelming, Weird, Awkward

The skies were clear and pleasantly accented by a smattering of fluffy white clouds. In the air a small flock of innocent seagulls were lazily drifting through the air, enjoying the calm atmosphere and warm sunshine. It was truly a beautiful day and it seemed as if nothing could change that.

"I'M SO BORED!"

An unexpected shout crashed through the peaceful atmosphere startling the seagulls, this caused one to crash into another which sent them both spiraling down into the sea, leaving the rest of flock to squawk indignantly. Upon reaching the water the poor birds were quickly eaten by a nearby shark. May they rest in peace.

The cause of the disturbance was currently hanging over the side of her ship sulking. Fierce had been trapped on the ship for the last eight days and was anything but happy. For one she was not used to being confined to a small space for any length of time, and two their journey so far had been surprisingly uneventful.

She was bored and getting a serious case of cabin fever, not a very good combination. If they didn't get to an island soon the Old Man was worried that she'd tear the ship apart in frustration. There wasn't much to do on their small ship to keep her occupied and she was fed up with his lectures.

Not long after they'd lost sight of Savage Island the Old Man had repeatedly told her what not do when they reached land. No breaking other peoples things. No eating food or taking things she hadn't bought with the money he gave her. No eating people, as if! That was disgusting. She'd been friends with the Old Man too long to consider them a viable food source. No starting fights or assaulting anyone. No killing someone because they annoyed her or started a fight. NO! NO! NO! She was so sick of hearing no!

She promised to behave but if someone started something she'd finish it and to hell with his rules. It's not like he could stop her from doing what she wanted if she really wanted to do it. Did humans really live by and obey all these rules? She doubted it.

Then there were these Navy people the Old Man kept mentioning. They enforced the rules and punished those who broke them. She was to respect them and avoid bring unnecessary attention to herself if they were present. Yeah right! Why should she have to obey someone weaker than she was? Either you were strong enough to enforce your will or you weren't. End of story.

She'd do her best not to make any trouble for the Old Man out of the respect she had for him. But if some idiot who had more teeth than he had bite thought he could order her around they were in for a nasty surprise. The Old Man said not to kill anyone; he never said anything about maiming. She rested her head on her arms and continued to simmer.

The Old Man for his part was trying to come up with a way to distract her as well as himself. The longer they were at sea the more time he had to worry about things he hadn't thought of before they left the island, such as the possible consequences of putting someone as volatile as Fierce into a foreign environment.

Things worked very differently in cities and towns than they did in the wild where she grew up. She was bound to draw unwanted attention from someone either from the way she was dressed or from the way she acted. He wasn't sure if she would understand when someone was insulting her if they used sarcasm, but she could read body language and guess from other people's reactions. If that happened it would be ugly.

Images of a burning island, piles of defeated foes, and angry Naval officers chasing them plagued his thoughts. Oh heaven help them if a pirate decided to poke at a sleeping dragon! As he grew more and more anxious he turned to cast a nervous glance at Fierce, his look soften and his fears eased a bit at the sight of her glowering over the side of the ship like a petulant child.

He really wasn't giving her enough credit, she wasn't completely without self-control. She was unlikely to start something unless provoked. From their talks he gathered that she only ever started fights with her brothers in an attempt to prove that being the runt didn't make her weak, or she was chasing down some poor animal because she was hungry. She was somewhat civilized, a trait he attributed to his own influence, but he was the only human she had any interaction with and that had been limited due to her brothers' interference. _Bigoted bastards._ There was a lot she didn't know and he'd been trying to make up for lost time but she didn't seem all that interested in his _nagging._

His eyes drifted down to the small canvas sack resting at her knees and found a conversation starter. "So what are you going to do with your families going away present?" Her head jumped up at the sound of his voice and looked at him surprised. It seemed as though she had forgotten she wasn't alone on this trip.

"I'm not sure; I know I'm going to keep them but it might get annoying have to carry them everywhere." She said directing her gaze to the bag as well. _Them_ was a collection of scales from her father and brothers of various sizes, probably from various part of their bodies and from different ages. Something to act as a reminder of her family while she was away, her father had dropped them into the boat when he flew over them. Though they hadn't noticed them until after he was gone and they had recovered from the shock.

"Maybe you can take some of the smaller ones and have them made into a bracelet or something you can wear. That way you won't have to carry them and you'll always have them with you." The Old Man suggested after thinking it over for few moments.

Fierce perked up considerably after that. "I can do that?"

"Sure you just have to pick out the ones you like best and take them to a jeweler or something. You can pay them to do it for you." He said giving her an indulgent smile at the sight of her eager face.

When he looked back at the sea he noticed a flock of agitated looking seagulls, a sight which quickly lifted his own spirits. "Look seagulls we must be near the island."

"Finally! I'm going to go crazy if I'm stuck on this boat much longer. What's this place called again?"

"Calida Aura Island, I've never actually been there before so I don't know what to expect, but given the weather it feels like a summer island."

Then suddenly they found themselves under attack by….angry seagulls? Yep, the flock that Fierce had upset earlier was taking their revenge by mercilessly pecking away at the ships two lone passengers. Both were wildly waving their arms around to fend off their attackers varying levels of success. Fierce was doing quite well for herself, most of hits at least grazing her foes.

The Old Man was having more trouble his group, hardly landing any blows but taking plenty. With one last frustrated swing of her arm Fierce managed to ward off her attackers and went to help the Old Man.

"Back off feather heads!" She yelled as she threw herself back into the fray. When they didn't fly away Fierce decided to try a different approach.

"_**ROOOOOOOOOOOOAR!"**_ That got'em. At the sound of a nearby and large predator, the flock quickly dissolved into panic and hurried to get away. They left behind quite a few feathers and some of their fallen comrades as they fled.

Once all was quiet the Old Man opened his eyes and stood up from floor where he'd been kneeling after Fierce ran to help. What he saw was the deck littered with feathers, a few dead seagulls, and a smug looking Fierce. She looked at him a grin wide enough to give a peek of the sharp teeth at back her mouth holding up one of the dead birds.

"Looks like lunch is taken care for today." The Old Man bowed his head and smacked it with his palm, covering his eyes. It looked as if the minor conflict had helped Fierce to release some pent up tension.

_This is going to be a disaster._

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After They've Docked at the Port

Fierce couldn't stop staring at anything and everything. Instead of trees there were stone and wooden dwellings of various sizes lining wide streets. So many people, they were everywhere, in stalls, walking around and chatting with one another. There were new and odd smells hanging in the air to, many she couldn't begin to name but they made her mouth water all the same. It was too much to take in at once and Fierce found herself overwhelmed by the sensory overload, unable to do anything but stand there wide eyed.

The Old Man had mix feelings about the place. The name had suggested a peaceful quite place; this was a crowded noisy city. On one hand he was glad to be back in civilization, he wanted to find a hotel and sleep on a real bed after a hot bath, eat a warm meal he hadn't had to catch himself, and find a bar where he could drink himself silly. But there was one problem, Fierce.

This was not how he had planned to introduce to the world; he had hoped to start in a small remote village where she was less likely to get into trouble. Big cities often had Naval bases planted in them somewhere, not to mention pirates and other unsavory characters. He was afraid that the crowds would make her feel pinned in, trapped, which would make her edgy and irritable, which would make her more likely to. . . .STOP! Do not go down that road. Breathe just breathe old man, relax and think of a solution instead of worrying yourself sick.

_Okay most of the shopping and entertainment should be closer to the center of the city which will draw the worst of the crowds there. If we stay near the docks we should okay, it has an open air market in addition to the shops which should be enough to keep Fierce occupied. She's never seen anything like this before so she won't get bored with it, and I can give her some money to go shopping with, girls like shopping._

"Fierce, I need to go take care of a few things. Will you be alright on your own?" Fierce snapped out of her daze and turned to him glowering at the insinuation that she couldn't take care of herself.

"Of course I will!" She snapped, baring her teeth at him slightly. She had a good amount of respect for Old Man for all he had done for her, but he needed to remember who the strongest one here was.

"I just wanted to be sure; this is all very new for you. I'm going to see if I can find us a Log Pose and an inn to sleep at." He said with his hands raised in a placating gesture.

"Here's some Beli, you remember what I told you about money right? Why don't you check out some of the shops and stands while I'm gone? We'll back here in front of that bar."

"Yes I remember, and what bar?"

"That bar" he said pointing down the street to a building with a sign reading _The Drunken Sea Slug._

"Alright got it, does it matter when we meet?"

"Try to be back here by late afternoon, and don't go too far the docks stay in this general area. And please for the love of all that's still good in the world and my health stay out of trouble!" The Old Man practically begged.

"I know, I know! You've told me a hundred times already, I won't start anything." And with that she went off in a huff to investigate the market.

He stared after her for a moment sending a silent prayer to the Heavens before heading to city. He could only hope that nothing set her off and that her child like curiosity would be enough to keep her busy. Hopefully all these overwhelming new experiences would make her less inclined to fight.

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With Fierce

She didn't even know where to begin. There was so much to see! On either side of her were shops and stalls, salesmen shouting out wares and prices, and customers buying and bartering. She was feeling a little lost in the crowd. People kept bumping into her as they moved around her, but she didn't let it bother her like it normally would, they weren't doing it on purpose.

She decided to just wander around for bit to drink in the sights, sounds, and smells to familiarize herself with her environment. _**If you are in a new place, scout around, learn what is or is not a threat to you. Find places to hide, to sleep, and where to find food and water.**_ Her father's words came back to her so strongly, so clearly, she could almost feel herself vibrating from the strength of his voice as if he was standing beside her. With it came a longing for home, which she shook off and refocused on exploring.

She kept a tight grip on her bag as she made her through the streets; it held the Beli the Old Man had given her, come gold, and her family's scales. People were staring at her as passed, either for her odd coat and bare feet or the way she was staring at everything. After a while she began to get hungry again, the seagulls from earlier hadn't had that much meat on them. She looked around at some of the stalls selling food unsure what to buy, when a splash of orange crossed her path.

It was a bear in an orange jumpsuit. She turned after it as passed her, when it was downwind of her it stopped. It turned around and stared back at her, sniffing the air as it regarded her. She looked at confused and a bit curious. She'd never seen a white bear before and certainly never one in clothes. Now that she thought about bears didn't usually walk around on their hind legs either.

A growl from her stomach reminder her of her previous mission. Food. She looked at the bear now with a different mindset. It was hard to tell under all that fur and the jumpsuit but she was certain that there was plenty of meat on it to make a good meal, and why not have something familiar before she tried something strange? With that in mind she changed her stance. Muscles tense she lower ever so slightly, as not alarm her prey, in a crouch. Readying herself to pounce on her unsuspecting vict-"You smell like ashes."

That simple phrase surprised her so much that all thoughts of food went out the window and she almost fell over.

_It can talk!_ Was the only in her mind. It spoke like a human no less.

"You can talk?" She asked, finally vocalizing her thoughts.

"Sorry" Was all it said with its bowed.

"That's nothing to for." She said sulking, she couldn't bring herself to eat anything smart enough talk, it was practically cannibalism.

"Okay" He recovered quickly. "You smell strange."

"Do I?"

"A bit, kind of like a human but not really."

"Huh, that's something I guess. Is any of that food any good?" She asked referring to the food stands.

"I like fish." The bear said, not really answering her question.

"I don't care if you like fish; I asked if any of that human food was good." She was getting a little annoyed, hunger always did that to her.

"Sorry" He said again, bowing his head for the second time.

_What's his problem?_ She wondered.

"I'll try some of whatever smells good then I guess." She said turning to the stands, hoping to fill her belly and end their somewhat awkward conversation. The bear muttered something she couldn't hear over the noise of the crowd before wandering off as well.

As Fierce made her selections she idly wondered if lots of animals could talk. She hoped not, one thing she was sure of was that life outside of Savage Island was going to be very strange indeed.

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**AN: I know I said there would be a bar seen but I've chosen to hold off on that for now. I want to take some more time planning that scene out because it is really important. It has to do with how she's going to meet Law and I don't want to mess it up! I have a few ideas but I'm going back and forth between them, I want to stay as true to Law's character as I can so I'm trying to come up with a realistic way for them to meet and get stuck together. Please Review and I'm open to suggestions.**


	4. Don't Touch My Stuff

**AN: Thank you everyone who reviewed and could you guys do me a favor? In your reviews tell me what you think of my characterization of Fierce and Law, but mostly Fierce. She's giving me trouble since she had beastly and human influences in her life I sometimes have trouble deciding where one starts and the other ends and which one should influence her behavior more in certain situations. PLEASE REVIEW! Sorry this one's a little short.**

Don't Touch My Stuff

"You're over cooking the meat you know." Fierce innocently stated to an older woman grilling meat and vegetable skewers. This well meaning comment caused a vein to start pulsing on said woman's head as her brows lowered into an annoyed scowl. Gritting her teeth she forced a smile onto face as she turned her attention to Fierce. Fierce stood there looking at her with an open if blank expression, the picture of innocence.

"Young lady I've been doing this for six years, I assure you I know what I'm doing." Fierce just kept staring at her for a moment before replying.

"But meat tastes best when it's rare." Now the woman was feeling insulted and quickly losing her patience.

"If I cooked it that way the flavor from the spices wouldn't have a chance to properly flavor the meat." She wasn't quite snarling but she was getting there.

"Spices? Oh you mean those funny smelling dried leaves. Why would you need those? Meat tastes just fine on its own." Fierce had narrowed her eyes as well; she did not like the tone this woman had taken with her.

"They act as a flavor enhancement you brat! Were you raised in a cave?!" The cooks temper had finally snapped and she had begun raise her voice.

"You can't "enhance" something that's already perfect. And so what if I was raised in a cave." Fierce hadn't raised her voice; rather she had lowered it, allowing a growl to creep in.

"If you think you're smart try one yourself! Here it's on the house." At this point the cook was fed up; she'd show that smart mouthed brat what real cooking was. She grabbed a skewer from the sizzling grill and thrust it at Fierce.

Fierce took it and stared at it for a second before shrugging and raising it to her mouth.

Seeing an approaching disaster the cook quickly forgot her anger and tried to stop her. "No wait you'll burn your". . ._CHOMP!._ . . ."mouth." The last word of that sentence came out weakly as she gaped in disbelief at Fierce, who'd bitten into the skewer. _What? How? That should have burned her mouth._

Fierce meanwhile had stopped chewing and had frozen. Her thought process had come to a temporary halt as everything focused on the taste in her mouth. She had no idea meat could taste like this, even if was over cooked. As the cook came out of her daze she noticed Fierce hadn't moved in a while and was just standing there with a skewer in her mouth.

"Hey, are you okay." She asked carefully. She then blinked dumbly as Fierce recovered and gobbled up the rest of skewer in seconds.

"Okay you win that was delicious. How much for twenty?" Fierce asked with a bright smile on her face.

"You sure you can. . .eat all that?" The cook asked uncertainly.

Fierce frowned at this. "Of course I can, I wouldn't have if couldn't."

"Oh, that'll be 12,000 beli." The woman looked after Fierce as she left with her bag of food, feeling dazed and wondering if she even human.

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After leaving the first food stall Fierce decided to expand her horizons, hoping everything tasted as good as her first sample of human food. Soon she had two bags full of several different kinds of buns, skewers, grilled squid, fried fish, a variety of breads, and some fruits that hadn't grown on her island. She walked around with a skewer hanging from her lips as she looked for a place to eat in peace.

She stopped when her path was blocked by a large figure. Looking up she saw it was a human male, easily twice her height and likely three times as wide. His tanned arms were thick with muscle, and he had what looked to be a Jolly Rodger on his arm. His overall appearance was dirty and scruffy.

"That's an awful lot a food for just one person don't ya think little girl?" Even his voice was rough. Fierce, sensing a challenge being issued from the man narrowed her eyes in irritation. She was none too pleased with his small comment either, only her big brothers and father could call her that and get away with it.

"No I don't. I can eat all this easy." What was with everyone asking that? She wouldn't have asked for it if she wasn't going to eat. She didn't waste food. She really didn't like this guy, but she'd try to avoid a fight like the Old Man asked if only because she just wanted to eat her lunch.

"That so?" The man asked disbelieving. "I've been watching you spend beli like there's no tomorrow, and that's a fancy lookin coat ya got. Never seen anything like it, you must be from a nice family." He continued.

Fierce tensed slightly, she wasn't sure where he was going with this but she did like it or his tone, there was something almost predatory about it. It seemed this man fancied himself to be a threat. He was hunting for something, but what? He was picking a fight with her, that much she knew, and if he kept it up she'd show him what happened when you messed a real predator.

"You probably have some beli to spare, why don't you give it to those less fortunate than you. Let's have a look at wha you got in that bag." He reached out for her bag as he said this.

_AHA! So that's his game he wants my bag. He's in for nasty surprise, no one takes MY things. No one._

"Touch my stuff and I'll destroy you." It came out as a viscous snarl followed by a brief growl deep in her throat.

This made him stop and sent a chill down his spine, did she just growl at him? He didn't know why, but something about her had scared him. Which was ridiculous, she smaller than him and a girl besides. She couldn't possibly be a threat to him. And yet when she had snarled at him it woke a primal fear in him. The same kind a man felt when staring down a Sea King. It sent a simple but clear message, _run, get away or die!_ It made no sense that he should feel that from some girl!

_Still better safe than sorry._ With that in mind he waved over his two companions who were lounging nearby. They quickly lumbered over to what they thought was an easy target.

In the mean time Fierce had set her bags down to free her arms and was staring at them unimpressed. The first was taller than the man with the tattoo but thinner and he carried a long sword on his back. The second was half his height and rather round, he held a sizable club in his hands. Both had the same Jolly Rodger on their shirts, a skull with squarish grey fists on either side.

_Feh! They must all be part of the same pirate crew. He knows he can't take me so he called his buddies over to help. Weakling._

She had issued her first and final warning to back down and run tail tucked and he had chosen to ignore it. He wanted a fight fine, she could use a little exercise. She readied a fist, in the back of her mind wonder how hard she could hit him without killing him as per the Old Man's request. She'd never had to pull punches before.

Tattoo was feeling confident again with his nakama on either side of him and had brushed off his earlier fear as a trick of the mind. They were the Stone Fist pirates. His captain had a 40 million bounty on his head already. What did they need to fear from one person?

"Alright little girl this is your last chance to walk away in one piece, drop the bag and run, unless of course you want to pay us in another way. Do you even know who we are? We are the Stone Fist Pira-!"

His monolog had been cut short by Fierce's fist in his gut. He went flying and crashed into a fruit vender's crates demolishing them. Everyone and everything stopped at the sight of a girl knocking a man much larger than she around like he was nothing. Fierce was standing, fist raised, with a disappointed and bored look on her face and a skewer still in her mouth.

"Just as I thought all fang and no bite." With that she collected her things and started walking away.

"H-Hey, where do you think you're going? We're not fini-" Fierce silenced him with a glare before turning back.

Looking back she said offhandedly. "You might want to check on your friend, I've never had to pull a punch before so I don't know if that killed him or not."

To scared now to do anything else they rushed to do as she bid them. Mean while the crowd their confrontation had gather was feeling rather shaken by the casual way she had spoken of a man's life even if he was a pirate. They wondered if she was a pirate to, a few of them wondered about reporting this to the Naval Base. Everyone was whispering amongst themselves as she walked away, how could such a slim girl have done that? Was she a devil fruit user or something else entirely?

Two others who were set apart from the crowd by their boiler suits and hats were wondering the same things, but with a sense of excitement rather than fear. Would she join up with them if they asked? Was she already part of another crew? And would their captain approve? With these questions in mind they ran off to find their find him, he should still in the bar where they left him to shop for supplies.

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Fierce was disappointed and bored. There were many shops with things she'd never seen before and others with items she was familiar with but newer and in greater variety, but she'd lost most of her desire to explore with the fight. If every human was that weak she'd never get any strong and she'd never have any good story to tell.

So she sat under a tree she'd found in a park finishing up her lunch. Trying some many new foods had helped to lift her spirits, but only so much. She'd chewed it, food like that was made to be savored, the Old Man would be so proud. Besides she doubted there was anyone tough enough to pose a threat if they tried to sneak up on her while she ate.

Now that she was done she wasn't sure what to do with herself. A glance at the sky told her she still had an hour or two before the Old Man came back to the bar. The Bar! She'd never been in one before but the Old Man had spoken of them with fondness. He said it was the best place to get a good stiff drink, whatever that meant. She could there and have a stiff drink while she waited.

Feeling curious again she traced her steps back to the bar.

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At The Bar

Law was lounging in chair with a mug of beer in his hand, listening to Shachi and Penguin's excited chatter about a potential crew member they had seen at the open air market.

"The guy didn't know what hit him!" Penguin exclaimed. "She sent him flying before he was even done talking with one swing!"

"And then she was a 'better check on him I'm not used to pulling punches' and walked away all badass!" Shachi continued. "I think she'd be great in our crew."

Law didn't say anything; he sat sipping his beer as he thought over what they'd said. Shachi and Penguin weren't offended by his lack of a response, well used to their captain ways by now.

Law was deep in thought, what Shachi and Penguin made sense, they could use someone else who was strong in their crew. They hadn't met any real challenges yet but it wouldn't stay that way for long, they'd only enter the Grand Line recently. Things would just keep getting harder from here on out. However there were other factors to consider. Someone that strong might already belong to another crew. If they did agree to join them if he asked did he really want someone who changed loyalties that quickly in his crew? No, unless they were ill treated by their former crews, pirates who jumped from ship to ship couldn't be trusted and he needed loyal nakama. As he was think this another thought came to mind, something Bepo, who was seated beside him, had said.

"Was she wearing a strange coat?" He asked.

"Yeah now that you mention it she was wearing a weird coat. It was purple and looked like it was made out of scales." Shachi said, arms folded as he thought back to the fight.

"Bepo" It was all Law needed to say, Bepo knew what he was asking, or rather ordering.

"Yeah that's the same girl I met in the market on my way here, she smelled funny."

"You mean she stank?" Penguin questioned, nosed wrinkling in disgust at the thought.

"No not like that just different. Kinda like a human but not. And captain? She scared me for second."

Law turned; frowning in surprise when he heard that.

"She _scared _you?" Bepo nodded. "Just for second." He said a bit defensively. That was something else to think about. Bepo didn't frighten easily, it seemed odd that a girl would. He didn't want someone who might be stronger than him in his crew, which could undermine his authority. Well if it came down to it he could always see how strong they really were. _After all_, he thought with a smirk, _I've got an ace up my sleeve._

He looked over when the bar door creaked open and the topic of their conversation waltzed on in purple coat and all. Law felt Bepo tense a little beside him before relaxing. His trade mark lazy smile found its way to his face. Even if she didn't end up joining his crew at the very least he could relieve some boredom.

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**First of all I apologize to** **all those who were waiting for the big confrontation but it's going to have to wait till next chapter. I've got some exams coming up so I'm to have to take a small break from this story I put this out to hold you over till then but it shouldn't be long. Secondly please review and I hope you read my note at the top.**

**P.S. If I get enough reviews I'll post a one shot featuring Law and Fierce.**


	5. The Bar and a Good Stiff Drink

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or the canon parts of the story. All credit goes to Eiichiro Oda. I do one my OCs and parts of the plot.**

**AN: The wait is over and so are my exams! Thank you all for your patience and lovely reviews.**

**Girl-luvs-magna****- Glad you liked my one shot I'm already working on another that takes place during Fierce's childhood.**

**To Lazy to Login****-You're awesome thank you for the feedback I needed it and you gave me some things to think about. Fierce is giving me trouble, in some ways she's immature and in others she very mature for her age. I want her grow but I'm wondering if I'm in over my head.**

**Chocolatluver4ever, random reader****, and ****10****th**** Squad 3****rd**** Seat ****I'm glad you're all enjoying this.**

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The Bar and a Good Stiff Drink

The Old Man was feeling rather cheerful as he walked through the busy streets. At first he had felt a bit uncomfortable in the crowds after being almost completely alone, save for one person, for nearly twenty years. He recovered quickly however and got down to business. First, he found them an inn not too far from The Drunken Sea Slug and ran himself a hot bath and trimmed his beard before leaving.

His next stop was a clothing store where he replaced his rags with proper pants, a shirt, and a sturdy pair of boots. He bought himself a few changes of clothes while he was at it. He contemplated getting Fierce something but decided against it. There wasn't likely to be much she would wear willingly, it would be best to have her with him so she could pick out her own things.

After that he found a nice little family owned restaurant and treated himself to the first home cooked meal he'd had in decades. For dessert he stopped at a candy/bakery and indulged his sweet tooth. Before he left he got Fierce a box of mixed chocolates and some strawberry filled pastries. Growing up on Savage Island had not allowed her to indulge in the same things as other children, something he was seeking to correct. No child should go through their lives without having tasted a chocolate or a candy at least once.

Now clean and completely refreshed he went about looking for a Log Pose so they could start a real adventure. He hoped no one thought they were pirates, Fierce wasn't looking for One Piece, she didn't even know it existed. She only wanted an adventure of her own, to see the world and explore it, to see all of its wonders and dangers. Despite all the stories he had told her involving pirates, the idea of becoming one never seemed to cross her mind.

As he went from shop to shop and asked around, every once in a while he would look back towards the docks, or where the docks would be if other buildings weren't in the way. Every time he half expected to see smoke or hear gunshots, but each time it was just a calm and quiet as before. He was deeply relieved to know that Fierce could behave herself for a few hours, he didn't know what he'd do if the Navy got involved.

Even as he finished that thought shout came from down the street.

"One side, one side, clear the way! "

The crowds quickly cleared the center of the road to allow men in white and blue uniforms through. The Old Man stood frozen as the passed, praying that whatever it was it had nothing to do with Fierce.

"Move it! There's a fight by the docks, pirates are involved. Let us through!"

That did little to ease his fears, Fierce was by the docks. Did she get into a fight? He had no way to know and didn't think that any of the marines would stop to give him more details. With that in mind he followed after them, getting a Log Pose would have to wait.

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Earlier at the Bar

After Fierce had relocated the bar she entered it and was assaulted by the smell of sweat, cheap booze, and tobacco smoke. This made her pause as she waited for her nose to get used to the smell; it made her feel a bit queasy. Once the feeling eased she glanced around to see if the Old Man was there yet. She didn't see him but she did see the weird bear from before. He was with three other human males; two were in matching jump suits just like the bear's only these were beige and some colorful hats.

It was third that she gave her full attention to; unlike the others he wasn't wearing a jump suit. He wore black speckled jeans, a speckled fur hat, and a black and yellow hooded sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up to show his tattoos. On his chest was a circular leering smiley face, framed by little Ts. They all had that mark but his was bigger, and the way they sat around him made her think he was their alpha. Her conclusion, they were pirates and he was their captain.

That wasn't the only thing only thing made her look longer than humans deemed socially acceptable, it was the air the man had about him. It was self assured and relaxed, but he was not unguarded as many would assume, his eyes told her that. They were a cold grey that stood out on his naturally darker skin, they were alert and calculating. He was a predator to, like the men who tried to take her bag, but he was far above them. It seemed the human world followed a pecking order not terribly different from the one back home. He was the biggest threat in room right now, but from what she had seen of other humans that didn't make him much of a threat to her.

Satisfied with her observations and conclusions Fierce moved in further and found a seat at an unoccupied table in the back on the opposite side of the bar. She decided to try one those good stiff drinks the Old Man spoken so fondly of while she waited for him. She felt the man's eyes on her but chose to ignore him, until he made a move anyway.

Indeed Law's eyes followed her as she sat down. While she had observed him he had sized her up in return. He had been mildly impressed when she had singled him out with her gaze. She hadn't looked at him the way a woman looks a man she finds attractive, he knew what those looked like, rather she had been evaluating him as a potential threat.

Her gaze had almost been challenging, even predatory as she looked him over, and those eyes, there was something odd about them but he hadn't been able to see what from a distance. He knew though that she found him to be the most dangerous person in the room, smart girl. However, she seemed to disregard this fact when she turned her back to him. That made him curious, she was either over confident or she was stupid, he would have to see which it was.

She was every bit as odd as his crew had claimed, from her bare feet to her coat of purple scales. Now that was something you didn't every day. But it was more than just her outer appearance; it was the way she moved. It made him think of a large predatory animal on the hunt with the way she walked with extra movement in the arms and shoulders and stronger than necessary strides. Her eyes looked all around her, curiously but warily sizing up everything her gaze fell on. He had never seen anyone like her and a part of him understood why Bepo might have been intimidated by her.

Whether or not he would ask her to join his crew was a decision he was still deliberating. For now he would sit back and watch.

Fierce was unsure of what to do, at the market when she wanted something all she had to do was walk up to a stall owner and ask for it. Here there were no stall owners and the seats in front of the man by all the glass bottles were full. As she was deciding whether or not to go up there and ask for a drink a middle aged woman in an apron walked up to her table.

"What can I get ya honey?" She asked in a slightly scratchy voice.

"_So they come to you in these types of places."_ Fierce thought before replying with a smile, she knew exactly what she wanted.

"I'll have a good stiff drink." The woman looked at her strangely, not sure she'd heard correctly.

"A good stiff drink honey?"

"Yeah, the Old Man said that's what bars are good for. Is he wrong?" Fierce was confused, had she made a mistake? And why did she keep calling her honey?

"He's not wrong sweet heart, but there are plenty of drinks to choose from. You'll have to be more specific. Is this your first time at a bar?"

"Yeah what of it?" Fierce was feeling defensive and unprepared. Couldn't the Old Man have been a bit more thorough when he told her about the bars?

"I thought so." The woman said feeling a bit sorry for the girl; she had no idea what she was doing. "Are you waiting for someone?"

"Yeah the Old Man, I wanted try a drink while I waited." Fierce said relaxing a bit.

"How about I get you one of our more popular drinks while you wait sweet heart?" The waitress offered with a smile.

"That'd be great!" Fierce cheered up instantly. The waitress left still smiling, the kid was a little cutie, she'd walked in like she owned the place but she acted like child with a new toy. She didn't belong in rough and tough bar like this. She hoped everyone left her alone, she get eaten alive.(AN: If only she knew wrong she was.)

Law watched the exchange in amusement, he hadn't heard what they'd said but he'd carefully observed their facial expressions, the girl appeared to be out of her element. He wondered where she was from and how she'd turned out the way she was if what Sachi and Penguin said was true. He almost laughed when she spat out the drink the waitress brought her. It appeared she wasn't very fond of grog.

Fierce meanwhile was still gagging and her eyes were watering. This was what the Old Man had spoken of with such longing?

"You okay honey? You want me to bring you some water?" The waitress asked concernedly. Fierce could only nod as she tried to stop coughing.

"_How can humans drink this stuff? It disgusting and makes my throat burn! I know humans are weird and all but this is ridiculous."_ Fierce paused in her thoughts when the waitress returned with her water. She quickly drained the glass, glad to wash taste from her mouth.

"You want anything else sweet heart?" Fierce shook her head held up her hands.

"All right but if you change your mind just wave me down." With that she walked away to check on another table.

Fierce pushed the mug of grog away from her with distaste, she didn't need or want anything else from this place and once the Old Man got here they were leaving. Sighing she put her elbows on the table resigning herself to boredom until then. Out of the corner of her eye she watched the pirate she'd seen when she walked in, he was still watching her with a lazy smile. Maybe he'd come over and give her something to do. Her hands twitched at the thought.

Law had finished his drink and was resting his head on his laced fingers. He still wasn't sure whether or not she was fit to be in his crew but he was willing to take a chance. At worst she wasn't worth his time and he could look elsewhere for new crew members. Besides she was issuing him a challenge with her eyes. Challenge accepted.

He stood and made his way to her table, taking his nodachi and signaling his crew to stay where they were. When he was half way across room she turned to give him her undivided attention. There was tension in her arms and shoulders, like a coiled spring she was waiting to pounce if he tried anything. It looked like this would be an interesting conversation.

"Would you mind if I sat here Miss?" He said placing a hand on the chair in front of her.

"No one's sitting there." It wasn't a yes or a no. Law easily sat in the chair and leaned his sword on his shoulder.

"My men saw your fight earlier and were rather impressed. Bepo was a bit startled by you as well."

"Bepo?" Fierce turned to Laws table. "The bear?"

"Yes"

Turning back to Law she said with a straight face. "He shouldn't worry I don't eat anything that can talk."

Law wasn't sure how to respond to that. "You wanted to eat Bepo?"

"I was hungry and I wasn't sure if I'd like that human food they had at market, it turned out to be pretty tasty actually."

"_Human food? What does she mean human food?"_ Law was puzzled and curious, more so than he was before. Who was she exactly and what made her say that?

"You've never eaten anything like what had in the market? And I never got you name Miss."

"No never, we don't have anything like it back home and it's Fierce."

Fierce? That was an unusual thing to name a child.

"Interesting name Miss Fierce and you have rather lovely if strange eyes." Now that he'd gotten a closer look he saw what was different about them. The pupil was slightly elongated and had a halo of blue around it; he'd never see eyes like that on human. If this didn't work out he could always dissect her and see if there were any other abnormalities.

Fierce wasn't sure what to say or do, she'd never gotten a compliment from anyone besides her family and the Old Man, and it was almost an insult the way he said it.

"Thank you?" She said unsurely. "And what do they call you?"

"Trafalgar Law" he was also known by another title but she didn't need to know that just yet.

"You're a pirate." It wasn't a question.

"Yes and my crew seems to think you would be a valuable addition to the Heart Pirates. Would you consider joining?"

"No," she said without any hesitation.

Law raised an eyebrow. "That was quick. Do you even want to think about it?"

"I don't need to. You're the captain and I'm not going to listen to someone who's weaker than me."

The air was so thick with tension it was hard for those sitting near them to breathe. Law had tightened his grip on his sword; his smile was brittle and cold. Fierce had narrowed her eyes and was baring just a few of her teeth.

"That so, but if I'm stronger you'll listen to me and join my crew?"

"Big if human."

A challenge had been openly issued and both were ready to answer.

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AN: **Feels good to be back, I could have made this longer but I wanted to get it out there. Let me know what think of Law, I've been re-watching the anime and reading the manga but I'm sure if I've got him down. R/R**


	6. What's That?

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or the canon parts of the story. All credit goes to Eiichiro Oda. I do one my OCs and parts of the plot.**

**AN: Alright big fight scene is finally here and it was a pain to write. I've never down a big fight scene like this so I could really use some feedback on what's working and what needs to be improved. I hope you all enjoy it. Read and Review.**

**Girl-luvs-manga ****and**** Bleachlover1999****-I'm glad to hear I've managed to stay true to Law's character, he's harder to write than I thought he would be.**

**Chocolatluver4ever, ladeste,**** and ****ghost in the attic****-I'm glad you're all enjoying this and thank you for the reviews. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. **

What's That?

Law swiftly drew his sword at Fierce who leapt back out of instinct. She fell with her chair and rolled head over heels to her feet. She charged forward in retaliation, fist drawn back. Law dodged to his right so his back would be to the door not the wall. Not in the least bit deterred she came at him again with the same results. Law wore a smile the whole time; she was like bull and always came at him directly. This made her easy to read.

The bar's other patrons had gathered by the walls and thoroughly enjoying the show. Those who recognized Law from his bounty posters were placing bets on him hoping to win some easy money. While the waitress and bar tender had taken cover behind the counter, observing the fight apprehensively. They could only hope they didn't cause too much damaged to the bar.

Law dodged again when Fierce took another swing, this time it landed on the table Law had been standing in front of. The wood shattered on impact. She turned back to Law with a grin of her own, wide enough to show the sharp teeth at the back of her mouth. The room had gone silent at Fierce's display of strength. It didn't last long and gave way to a new round of betting.

Law's eyes had widened briefly at the demonstration, but his grin was back and bigger than before. This was certainly exhilarating, one hit and it could very well be over for him if he wasn't careful. It looked like Sachi and Penguin hadn't been exaggerating, she would make a good ally, but only if she could be controlled. She respected strength; perhaps it was time to get serious.

"Captain!" Law glanced at his crew from the corner of his eye. They were on their feet and ready to come to his aid. He gave a slight shake of his head; this was his fight they were not to interfere. They stepped backed to join the crowd and left him to it.

Taking his sword in one hand, his raised the other slightly and uttered one word.

"Room"

The room was enveloped in a translucent blue sphere. Fierce and the crowd looked around them confused, wary, and curious.

"He must be a Devil Fruit user!" One man yelled. Everyone inside the bar was getting anxious, this did not bode well. Fierce was an exception, she didn't know what this was or what it meant to be a Devil Fruit user. She was being cautious though, picking up on the crowd's anxiety. Somehow things had gotten more dangerous, but she couldn't see what the big deal was. How was a big blue dome, that didn't even look solid, supposed to hurt her? Then again that Law fellow seemed cockier than before.

"_She's waiting for me"._ Law thought_. "She knows enough not to charge into the unknown at least."_

Deciding to take her invitation he made a diagonal cut with his sword. Fierce moved before she even realized he wasn't close enough to hit her. Then she heard wood hitting the floor behind her. Risking a turn of her head she saw a table cut in half. The cut was perfectly smooth, it wasn't natural. Fierce looked back to Law and then the blue sphere. Whatever it was it let him cut things at a distance, this was going to take longer than she thought.

Unbeknownst to them the bar tender had found a Den Den Mushi and had alerted the Navy. Their officers were on the way.

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With the Old Man

"huff huff huff" He was having trouble keeping up them. Living on Savage Island had kept him in decent shape, but old age had taken its toll. He wasn't as young as he used to be. Looking ahead he was grateful that the marines were making such a racket as they went. It made it easier for him to follow. He only hoped that Fierce wasn't involved in this.

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Back at the Bar

Fierce faced him with a growl sounding deep in her throat. This made Law's eyebrows raise a fraction.

"_Did she just growl at me? It didn't sound human. Maybe she's a Zoan user."_ That would explain some of the abnormalities. She could be keeping herself partially changed if she had really good control. It would also explain that strength of hers.

She was starting to circle him, seeking an opening. He turned with her, not wanted his back to her. He raised his nodachi to make another cut. She chose that moment to strike. She came barreling at him; surprising him and making him lose his focus. He turned out of her way, using his sword to catch her hand before he was completely out of the way.

He used her momentum against her, to lead her the way a bull fighter would lead a rampaging bull and managed to score a hit. She flew through the wall and onto the street still encompassed by his Room. He calmly walked out of the hole she'd made, confident that this fight was nearly finished. That last attack hadn't gone as he'd intended, but it had still worked in his favor. His arms hurt a bit, but her hands were probably in bloody ribbons. He wondered how many fingers she'd lost in her reckless charge.

He could see blood on the ground as she stood bock up. Curiously there wasn't as much blood as there should have been. He frowned as he studied her back, what was going on?

She turned to face him; one hand to her mouth as she licked the wound through the gloves the Old Man had insisted she wear to hide her claws. She was hurt but the gash was shallow. How was that possible? His need to know was returning. If this ended in her death she was going to be on his examination table.

"You're pretty tough for a human. I underestimated you." She began. "What's this blue thing anyway?"

She kept coming back to and making comments about him being human. Why? She was human, or at least she looked human. Something was off about this and that girl, and he was going to find what.

"This is my "Room", my operating room. I can control the placement of everything inside."** (AN/ if anyone's wondering why he hasn't used more cool moves it's because Oda never said when he ate the Ope Ope no mi so I'm making it so he hasn't had it very long and is still getting the hang of it. It's still pretty early in his journey on the Grand Line right now.)**

"So all I have to do is step out and it's useless?" She said in a matter a fact way.

Law felt his mouth twitch in annoyance, she felt at ease even knowing what he could do. She was looking down on him and he didn't like it. But was she only doing so because she thought she wasn't human? Was she? He needed more information, and he would get from her whether she was dead or alive.

She took the gloves off; happy to have her hands back in the open air. She was going to end this. Law stared at her hands intrigued. Were those claws?

"Are you a Zoan?" Fierce looked at him strangely.

"A what?" Did she really not know?

"Have you ever eaten a fruit with swirling patterns on it that tasted terrible?"

She thought for moment before answering. "No I've never even seen anything like that."

"_Then why do you have claws?"_ He thought.

Fierce was frowning at this point as well. "Are you going to fight me or are you done?"

Law brought his weapon back into an attack position. He wasn't one to turn down a challenge.

This time he waited until Fierce charged him again before attacking, as she moved past him used his Room to cut off her arm.

Fierce froze in place at the sudden weightlessness on her left. She slowly looked down at where her arm was _supposed_ to be. It didn't hurt and there was no blood. She could feel it to, she felt the . . . ground? Looking over she saw her arm lying in the dirt, fist clenched tight. She practiced opening and closing her hand. She watched in horrified fascination as it obeyed her commands.

Law for his part was grinning again at her shock and disbelief. This wouldn't last much longer. Losing a limb was enough to break most peoples' will to fight. Much to his surprise when she turned back to him there wasn't fear in her eyes. There was a raw fury held there as her eyes changed. Reddish brown gave way to red and yellow that intermingled with the blue expanding around her pupil. It was a beautiful in the way an uncontained inferno was.

"_**RROOOOOOOOOOAAR"**_ She let out a cry that no human could produce and yet it held a human element to it that made it all the more terrifying. She came at him again and didn't stop, even with only one arm. He had barely enough time to dodge let alone attack.

The crowd had fled by this point and streets had emptied. Citizens watched from behind stalls, shop windows, and alley ways, praying the Navy would soon arrive.

Small craters dotted the road and Law was strictly on the defensive. She'd driven him out of his Room and wasn't giving him the chance to make another. It was like fighting a rabid animal.

"Aiya!" Speaking of animals, Bepo dove down and landed a flying kick on Fierce's face. It put her through another building. Bepo landed on one foot and made a few poses before taking a stance.

"Captain! Are you okay?" It seemed his crew had taken an initiative to help him.

"I'm fine and I ordered you to stay out of this."

"Sorry captain."

"It's fine, that's not going to be enough to keep her down."

Sure enough she was already climbing out of the rubble, her remaining hand rubbing her cheek.

"That actually hurt. Guess not all pirates are as weak as those other ones."

Law relaxed a bit, she'd snapped out of whatever had possessed her and was back to normal. That would make her easier to deal with.

"Although it looks like you need your crew to help you win fights. Did you realize that you can't take me alone?"

Law narrowed his eyes in irritation; she was getting on his last nerve. She was making her way back to him flexing her clawed hand.

"Stay back," he ordered his crew. This was between him and her.

But before they could resume their fight they were interrupted by a shout.

"Freeze, hands where we can see them! We have you surrounded!"

Indeed they were they'd been so caught up in the fight that they hadn't noticed the marines until it was too late. Each one had a gun trained on the group. In front of them were the marines, behind them the building Fierce had just dug herself out of.

"Who the hell are you, and what makes you think you can tell me what to do?" Fierce asked, breaking the dramatic and tense mood.

Every marine turned to look at her in complete surprise, the captain on duty was the one who answered her.

"We-we're the Navy surely you recognize the uniforms."

Fierce examined them and an imaginary light bulb went off in her head.

"Oh yeah! The Old Man talked about you guys. He said I was supposed to listen and respect you because you enforce the law or something. I don't see what the big deal is, you can't make do anything I don't want to. You're too weak."

There was a tense silence before the captain shouted. "What! Who do you think you are? We'll show you our might. Men ready. Aim. Fi-!"

"Ae ae ae aeyaaa!"

Law had taken advantage of the distraction Fierce had unknowingly supplied and gotten his men ready to attack. He'd sent Bepo first, who delivered a swift kick to the marine captain. He was soon followed by Sachi and Penguin and they broke the line. They had no formation and their leader was down. Things soon dissolved into chaos and it was every marine for themselves.

Fierce oddly found herself on Law's side, and fought the marines with him and his crew. She supposed it was because they had a common foe for the moment and neither liked to be order around. She didn't mind too much. They could finish their fight later.

She sent another marine to the ground bleeding, but she was finding it hard to fight single handedly when she could still feel her other arm. It was an odd sensation.

"Fierce! Where are you we need to leave they're sending reinforcements!" Fierce looked around, she knew that voice anywhere.

"Old Man! I'm here, where are you?"

"I'm in front of the bar!" He answered.

Law, who was closest to her, looked at her questioningly. Old man? She had a companion? He followed her gaze and spotted, surprise surprise, an old man by what was left of the Drunken Sea Slug. She was already rushing over to him.

"What have you done?!" Was the first thing to come out of his mouth.

He looked down. "And what in the world happened to your arm?!" Was the second thing to come out.

Fierce pouted, why did he have to assume it was her fault? "He started it and he cut it off! It's lying over there." She said pointing to Law while she made her detached arm wave at Old Man, who nearly passed out from shock.

Law watched them amused. It looked like she listened to the old man even if it was only a little bit. He wondered why, she respected strength and power he doubted that an old man had much of either of these. He'd find out later for now they needed to deal with the newly arrived marines.

Half focused on him while the other half closed in on Fierce and the old man she was with. He dealt with his group with Sachi, Penguin, and Bepo.

Fierce stared at the metal and wood sticks the humans in blue and white were pointing at her. The other group had done this too. What were they going to do, beat her? Throw them? They'd have to change the way they were holding them if they wanted to do that. And why did they make the Old Man so nervous? Humans really were strange creatures.

"Fierce be careful they have guns and I doubt even you are bullet proof."

Fierce just looked at him funny. "Guns? Bullets? What are you talking about, those sticks?"

The Old Man's jaw dropped to the ground and the rest of him soon followed. He'd forgotten to warn her about guns! Of all the things to forget it had to be something dangerous. He couldn't believe it.

Fierce watched the Old Man kneel on the ground with a depressed aura hanging over him.

"_What's his problem?"_ She thought before turning back to the marines. She was itching to smash through them.

They'd readied their weapons and waited for the order to fire.

"Ready! Aim! Fire!" As the order was given Fierce charged and the Old Man came out of his depressed stupor.

"Fierce wait!" He leapt after her and managed to knock her down. He was able to do this only because she was mid step. As she went down gun fire filled the air and was followed by a cry of pain and a single shout.

"OLD MAN!"


	7. First Aid

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or the canon parts of the story. All credit goes to Eiichiro Oda. I do one my OCs and parts of the plot.**

**AN: This took longer to write than I thought it would, I hope it's worth the wait and next chapter you'll get a little treat. Law and Fierce are going to get some one on one time but I'm not saying any more than that.**

**Girl-luvs-manga**- I'm sorry but Fierce cannot and will never be able to turn into a dragon. I never even considered giving her that ability. Don't worry though Fierce has a few tricks, some I've hinted at already in other chapters. Virtual cookie to whoever can guess what one is.

**Ladeste**** and ****venus-** Here you go, I hope this will hold you over until the next chapter.

_**Special note at end of chapter to anyone who cares to read it.**_

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First Aid

Fierce was in shock and couldn't believe what just happened. The Old Man had pushed her out of the way and had taken a hit from those _guns._ What had possessed him to do that she didn't know. He should know that she could take a lot more damage than he could and still walk away. Yet he saw fit to interfere with her fight in a misguided attempt to save her and had gotten himself hurt. Badly.

He was in a heap on the ground hissing in pain, one hand clutching his shoulder the other at his leg, trying to stave off the bleeding. Blood was pouring out of his wounds. The _bullets_, as humans called them, had cut right through him.

As the blood, his blood, made its way to the ground Fierce's vision slowly faded to red. That same rage she'd felt when Law had taken her arm was coming back stronger than ever. It took a lot to drive her into a true rage but they had hurt the Old Man. He was hers, under her protection, and they had harmed him. It was more than she could take as she felt her body grow hot. Her heart began to beat faster as her thoughts focused on one thing, hunt and kill.

(**AN: I'm basing her reaction and her feelings about this on the concept of dragons being notorious hoarders. She does care about him but she also sees him as belonging to her but she in turn belongs to him, though she's the dominant one in the relationship because she's the strongest. It's also why she'll listen to him, sometimes anyway. It's the same with her brothers and father, she's theirs and they're hers but they are equals. I hope this makes some sense to you it's hard to explain but more on this later back to the story.)**

Law signaled his men to stay back as he took a few steps back himself from Fierce, recognizing that she was getting ready to go berserk by the change of her eyes. It looked like the Old Man was of great importance to her; he could use that to his advantage later if she survived.

This felt different though, the hunger and rage rolling off her in waves sent chills up and down his spine that her previous fit hadn't. It was a warning to stay away, and it looked like he hadn't needed to tell his men back away. They were already moving and Bepo was hiding behind a building, he had the best instincts.

Those marines were in for it and by the looks on their faces they knew it to.

It could be likened to staring down a full grown Sea King thought the marine lieutenant. Those eyes weren't human. Those were the eyes of a mad animal, a beast. It sent a type of crushing fear he'd rarely ever felt. The kind that told you if you didn't get away now you were done.

More than anything he wanted to obey but he couldn't move. Couldn't look away from those eyes anymore than a rat could look away from a snake for fear it would strike the second it showed its back. His hands were shaking and he was gripping his rifle so tightly it hurt.

A quick glance around showed his men were having similar problems before his eyes found the girl again, standing protectively in front of her fallen companion. Who was she? Or better yet what was she?

He would never have answers to those questions. She started her attack letting out a roar that was neither completely human nor animal in nature. The sound tightened the cold hand around his heart all the more. Before them stood an apex predator and they were the prey.

Law casually leaned against what remained of the bar's front wall, his nodachi back in its sheath and resting against his shoulder. Once he realized that Fierce didn't care that he was still there and was solely concentrating on the marines he'd ventured closer to watch the show.

It was a sight to see, the marines were in a state of panic and weren't even bothering to aim before pulling the trigger on their guns. This proved a boon to Fierce who fought hand to hand if it could be called that. It was more like she was breaking them; they were grunts and couldn't hold up against the strength of her blows.

They had no hope of escape, if any tried to run she took them down first. Their swords couldn't do much more than scratch her skin. **(AN: She is not indestructible they're just not strong enough to hurt her and you'll find out why later.)** It looked like her coat was somewhat bullet proof, most glanced off unless they fired from mid range to point blank. He could see bloody holes from where a few had gotten lucky and fired when she was close enough.

"Damn it Fierce, I was-_huff_-afraid this would-_huff_-happen." Law looked down as the Old Man struggled to sit up. Here was a chance to get some answers.

"Does she do this often?" Law asked in a lazy drawl, like he was asking if the weather outside was pleasant or not.

He looked to him, only then noticing that he was there. He didn't answer right away, not trusting him but also knowing he was in no condition to stop Fierce if she got out of hand. . .more out of hand. After some deliberating he decided to answer.

"No not really. It takes a bit to set her off like this."

"Is there any way to calm her down?" Law continued to push for information, for anything that would help him keep her under control when he got her in his crew. He had decided he wanted her as a member, that kind of raw power would be very useful to him.

"There are two ways I know of. One let her wear herself out or calm down on her own. Two, surprise her to snap her out of it."

Law mulled over what he'd learned as he watched Fierce finish demolishing what remained of the marines and a good bit of the surrounding area. It certainly explained why she went back to normal after Bepo kicked her through that building. She hadn't expected him to come flying at her. As for right now it looked like the second option would do just fine. The fight was over and she lying in the street panting.

Fierce was exhausted. Her fits always took a lot out of her and her head felt like it was full of fog as her vision began to clear. As it did she became aware of the fact that she was pain. She felt it on her back and remaining arm accompanied by a warm wetness that could only be blood if her nose was any judge. It looked like those guns packed more of a punch than she thought.

She then remembered that the Old Man was hurt and needed help. She rose shakily to her feet and walked back to him, paying no mind to the damage and bodies around her. As she walked her head continued to clear and her steps became steadier.

She was still weak and hurt but she'd survive, she wasn't so sure about the Old Man. That thought made her angry again but she ignored it favor of helping her friend, even if she didn't know what to do.

She spotted Law behind him and tensed up. Would he strike at her while she was weak? Would he try to kill the Old Man? She didn't know but she wouldn't make either easy for him. When she reached the Old Man and he still hadn't moved she bumped him down on her possible threats/things to worry about list and gave her full attention to the Old Man. It didn't look good.

He was still bleeding and breathing hard. She wasn't sure how blood a human could afford to lose but it probably wasn't much. They were so fragile and old age wouldn't help. She knelt and touched the one on his shoulder only to have him hiss and flinch away.

She felt lost. If it was a cut or break she could have at least patched him up and found someone else to care of it, but she didn't have a clue what to do with a gun wound. Law saw the lost look on her face and decided now was the best time to make his move.

"If he doesn't get medical attention soon he'll bleed out and die." He stated perfectly calm, like a man wasn't about to die.

Fierce turned to him with a snarl. "He'll be fine, like you said he just needs help."

"Do you know where to go or how to help him? From the way you've been sitting there just watching I'd say you don't." He replied as calmly as before, his devil may care smile still in place. How she wanted to claw it off.

"And you do?!" She thundered back, a growl creeping back into her voice as she bristled. If she had hackles they'd have been sky high at this point.

"Yes, I'm a doctor."

That made her pause as she searched her memory for what that meant. She felt her hopes rise when she remembered. Doctors healed and fixed sick and hurt humans. He needed a doctor, but not this one. She'd find him another one; she wasn't going to trust Law with her Old Man.

With a plan forming in her mind she scooped up the Old Man and put him over her shoulder and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Law asked surprised she hadn't immediately asked him for help.

"To find a doctor." She said over her unburdened and still armless shoulder.

"I just told you I'm a doctor." He said with a raised eyebrow. What did she think she was doing?

"I don't trust you so I'm going to find him another one." She said plainly and without hesitation.

"_So that's what's wrong. I need to raise the stakes and make myself the best option."_ He thought before calling out to her again.

"Do you even know where to find one? If you do there's no guaranty that they'll help you after the trouble you've caused. Plus the marines will be looking for you while he is unable to be moved."

That was enough to make her stop and turn back to him. He made some valid points but she didn't want to rely on someone who had been a rival not long ago. In this case the Old Man was the most knowledgeable. He knew how the world worked and he knew how long he would last if she couldn't get him help in time. Her gut instinct was to help and protect him. She'd failed in the latter and wasn't sure how to do the former. She'd let him choose this time.

"Old Man?" She questioned in a soft voice, unusual for her.

"He's right Fierce, we might be able to find a hospital but the marines will be looking for us and circulating descriptions. We'll be found in no time if we stay and I'll need time to recover before I can move freely."

Choice made she considered Law, his crew had come back while they were talking and stood at his side once more. He looked proud and triumphant, he'd gotten his way. It couldn't be that easy, could it?

"Can you fix him?"

"Yes I can and you too."

"Where should we go while you do?" At this Law's smile got bigger. She'd taken the bait, now he just needed to sink it.

"I said I could, I never said I would."

"WHAT! I'll kill you!" Fierce started at him wounds and the Old Man forgotten until he yelled at her.

"Fierce that's enough! Put me down I'll talk to him." She stopped but continued to glower at Law as she set the Old Man down, lips drawn back to show her fangs. One wrong move or word and he was dead, he'd be dead already if she wasn't so tired.

"What do want in exchange for your services sir?" He knew how pirates worked he wanted something from them.

If possible, Law's smile continued to grow. "Join my crew. I take of my own."

The Old Man was stunned. He hadn't considered that someone would try to recruit Fierce. This was something to think about.

"Why would we join your crew!? I told you I'm not going to take orders from someone weaker than me!" Fierce cut in and voiced her opinion on the matter.

"We never did settle that matter did we? You can't say which of us is weaker or stronger." Law easily countered her argument.

She frowned at that, she didn't like it but it was true. Their fight had been interrupted by those marines.

"_Besides",_ she thought as she rubbed the place where her arm should be, "_he's not as weak as I thought he was. He might even be strong."_

"I'll reattach your arm." He continued knowing that it would likely seal the deal.

"Fine, but I don't like this."

"Very well, you'd best lead us to your ship before they send more reinforcements."

"This way, we'll head back to our ship, and" he said as the Old Man passed him, his voice cold, "I don't like being order around."

The Old Man gulped. "It was a suggestion, only a suggestion." What had they gotten themselves into?

"Hmmm. Sachi, get Fierce's arm and bring it here. I'll reattach it now."

"Yes sir!" With that he ran over to retrieve the severed limb, not at all bothered by it.

Once he returned with it Law had Fierce hold in place while he reopened his Room. Now two handed once again Fierce picked up bag which she'd dropped at some point during the fight, she couldn't remember when exactly, and the Old Man's. Soon the Old Man was back in her arms and they were hurrying to the docks.

The Heart Pirates as she learned they called themselves were anchored on the opposite side of docks where had anchored their own ship. What she saw surprised her. It had a deck and sails, but the rest of it was metal and bright yellow. Small windows and lights circled its middle, and it had the Heart Pirates Jolly Rodger and death written on the side.

"_Death? Where have I seen that before?"_ A glance at Law answered that question; he had it tattooed on his hand.

"What is it?" She asked unable to keep her curiosity at bay any longer.

"It's a submarine Fierce." Penguin answered as they boarded.

"A sub-what?"

"A submarine, it can go under water. Most crewmembers have at least some training as engineers and we help keep it running." Sachi explained.

Fierce frowned as they walked through a hall, eyes taking in everything. Even the inside was made of metal. It felt cold under her feet and smelled of grease and oil. Once in a while she spotted other pirates, all dressed in the same off white uniforms.

"_I hope they don't expect me to wear one of those."_ She thought as they came to a halt outside a, you guessed it, metal door.

"_How does this thing stay afloat?"_

"Give him to Bepo." Law ordered.

Fierce was instantly on the defensive.

"Why should I?" Her infamous growl reentering her voice as she became agitated.

"You'll get in the way if you come inside. You need to wait here." "_This is the real test_," Law thought. "_Can she take orders or will she lash out?"_

Fierce tightened then loosened her grip on her burden before surrendering him to Bepo. Looking back at Law she gave a single warning.

"If he doesn't come out that room better I'll rip you apart." As she said it her voice got rougher, lower. It sounded more like an animal was snarling at him.

"As long as he follows the doctor's orders he'll be fine." Smirk in place Law shut the door in her face leaving her alone in the hallway.

She slid down the wall to the ground, tired and worried. Out here away her home she was alone except for the Old Man. She could survive without him, but he knew how everything worked out here, while she was an outsider.

He'd always been there as long she could remember, she didn't want him gone. She wasn't sure what she'd do if he died.

Well that wasn't entirely true. First, she'd kill Law and anyone who got in the way for failing to keep his word. Then she'd go after the ones responsible for the injury, the Navy, after that though she was lost.

Watching the door with a sad longing she hoped Law could do as he said he could. Resting her arms and chin on her knees she waited.

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**AN: At the beginning of this story I promised to give Fierce's origin story. After some thought I've decided to hold off a little longer for plot reasons, I'll give out tidbits though out the course of the story before I write out the whole thing. Hope no one's too bothered by this, I thought it would help enrich my story.**


	8. First Physical

**AN: This chapter turned out longer than I thought it would, but I'm sorry I've been looking forward to this chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Loyal reviewers thank you for your feedback even if it's just to tell me you like this story, I really appreciate it and it motivates me to keep going.**

**Special thanks to SraoshaLuna for your through feedback, your comments about the romance made me rethink some future chapters and I hope they don't disappoint. Those are a little while away I'm afraid first I need to keep these two from killing each other.**

**To Lazy to Login thanks, it's good to know I have a possible rescue waiting but I think I'm getting the hang of this. The more I right the better I get to know Fierce, weird considering I made her.**

**Happy Thanksgiving. **

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First Physical

Fierce was not in the best mood. She was tired, sore, worried, and the hole in her back had started to bleed again while she was carrying the Old Man. She was barely fighting off the urge to sleep. She wanted to be awake when Law was finished with the Old Man so she could check on him and ensure Law had kept his word.

She also wasn't about to let her guard down in enemy territory. Law said he wanted her in his crew, that he took care of his own, but she couldn't be sure of his intentions. She didn't know what it meant to be crewmates with someone, but she knew that Law was the captain and that she would be expected to follow his orders. Yeah right.

She let him take the Old Man because he claimed to be able to help him, in doing so she had become a member of the Heart Pirates. It didn't mean he had her respect or that she would do as she was told. If he wanted to be her leader he had to prove he was worthy of the role and strong enough to keep it, and he just might be.

She couldn't remember everything that happened during their fight, her memory got fuzzy when she had a fit, but he had put up a good fight. He had even succeeded in wounding her multiple times. She could privately admit to being impressed by his battle prowess, but it would take more than that if he wanted her loyalty. It wasn't something she just gave away. Currently the only human who held her loyalty was the Old Man. He had earned over the years as she grew up and taught her things her family couldn't and tended to her. Law hadn't done anything to receive it yet.

If he had won their fight she would have obeyed him and respected his strength but wouldn't have respected the man himself. Such respect ran deeper and was harder to obtain.

She turned her attention down the hall when she heard some of Law's men whispering. They were standing there watching her curiously. They wondered who she was and why she was there. Some predicted that she was a new crew member.

For the most part Fierce ignored them in favor of watching the door in front of her. Whenever one tried to approach and ask her questions she'd growl at them until they backed off and went back to whatever they were supposed to be doing.

She didn't know how long she sat there, but the longer she waited the more anxious she became.

"_What's taking them so long?"_ Fierce silently asked, hoping that something hadn't gone wrong.

As time continued to drag on she began to feel crowded even in the empty hallway. She felt restricted and trapped within the steel confines of the submarine and it wasn't helping matters at all. She'd been indoors before, in caves and on the ship, but there had always been an easy exit to open air. She couldn't see the way out where she was sitting. She wanted out, but she couldn't leave until she was sure the Old Man was okay, creating a small war between two different instincts.

Before she could go on a rampage in an attempt to claw her way either inside the operating room or out of the sub the door finally opened. Law stepped out drying his hands on a towel and watched Fierce rise to her feet.

She looked at him expectantly. "Well how is he?" She demanded, quickly losing her patients with his silence.

"He'll make a full recovery as long as he doesn't reopen the wounds and doesn't try to move before they've had a chance to heal." Law answered her calmly.

"I need to take a look at you too. You were injured as well and I don't see any exit wounds. That means that the bullets are still inside and if they get infected you'll die." He continued.

"I'm going to see him." It wasn't a request. She walked right past him into the operating room, completely ignoring his comment about her health.

Law followed after her a scowl, not liking her attitude or the way _she _was telling _him_ what she was going to do. She had better watch herself. She was new to the crew so he didn't have any of the obligations towards her that he felt for the rest of his crew. If she proved more of a hindrance than an asset or a threat she was as good as dead. He'd give her time to adjust to her new life, but if she couldn't he'd take care of her himself.

"Sachi, Penguin you two may return to your regular duties. Bepo, keep watch outside for marines, alert me the minute they find us." As they left to perform their assigned tasks Law followed after Fierce.

Fierce glanced quickly around the room before zeroing in on the Old Man and ignoring everything else. She was at his side in seconds, checking to see if he was better or worse.

"Old Man, are you okay?" She asked lightly shaking his uninjured shoulder. He was breathing, but he didn't stir.

Fierce swiftly turned to Law, grabbing him by the front of his hoodie and pulling him down to her level.

"What's wrong with him?!" She demanded, teeth bared and snarling.

"Nothing, he's sleeping off the anesthesia, he'll wake up in a little while." He replied calmly. Then placing his hands on hers his voice grew cold.

"You'd do well to watch your tone. I am your _captain_ now. I'm also the one who saved your friend that puts you in _my_ debt." He slowly removed her hands from his person. She didn't resist too much.

"Now if you'll follow me Miss Fierce I need to see to your injuries as well. While we're at it I'll go ahead and give you a physical." Law said as he moved about the room, pulling things from drawers and cabinets.

Fierce followed him with her eyes, choosing to stay near the Old Man. She was satisfied for now that he wasn't in immediate danger, but she was reserving judgment until he was awake. She didn't like the idea that she owed Law anything, it didn't work that way back home. You helped someone because they were yours, and they helped you because you were theirs.

She wasn't Law's deal or no deal, but he had helped the Old Man even though he wasn't strictly obligated to. He was a doctor and they were supposed to heal humans, but he was a pirate captain too. Pirates were self serving and looked out for their own interests according to Old Man. She wasn't sure what to do in this situation.

For now she'd sit back and wait, like any good ambush predator, to see what happened. Law had healed the Old Man, at least as far as she could tell, so she wouldn't kill or outright attack him as long he didn't push her too far or threaten the Old Man. However; she wasn't going to show him her throat either.

Law could feel her eyes on him. She hadn't looked away once and stayed near the Old Man. She didn't trust him, but he hadn't expected her to given the circumstances. He hoped she would come too eventually. He wouldn't be able to make full use of her if she didn't.

Helping her companion was a good step forward in that direction, but she was still proving resistant. She was very volatile; he'd heard low growls coming from the hallway. He assumed it was the other members of his crew she was snarling at. That wouldn't do, a crew had to trust one another and be able to work together towards common goals.

If she couldn't settle down and integrate with them he'd have to get rid her. He was letting some things slide for now since she was new and hadn't joined very willingly. Not to mention she had obviously been raised in a very atypical manner. How was she raised exactly to make her act the way she did? He felt like he was dealing with an animal half the time, very smart animal but still an animal.

He wasn't a complete monster like the newspapers made him out to be. Would he kill a whole platoon of marines and not feel a single shred of guilt? Yes. Would he scramble up someone's body parts and leave them to die? Yes. But he had meant it when he said he took care of his own. If he was given a person's loyalty he returned the favor and was good to them. Everyone else was cannon fodder as far as he was concerned.

He found finally found his clip board and an empty folder to put her information in. He kept a separate medical file for each member of his crew. He'd have to make one the Old Man when he was better if he was staying with them, and that was only if he had some useful talents.

"Sit on this table and take off your clothes. I'll be back in a minute, I need some more sutures." Law said as he placed some equipment on a tray by the table. After that he drew a screen around his other patient, knowing some women were sensitive about their privacy.

"Okay, but what's a physical?" She asked as she left the Old Man's side and went to the other table.

Law stopped short of his supply closet and turned back to her.

"You've never had one before?" He inquired, surprised.

"Nope," she responded without a moment's hesitation.

"It just a general examination of your physical health, I'll take measurements like your height and weight and look at your eyes and such to check for problems. I might ask you questions about past injuries and illnesses too for future reference if you get sick again or re-break a bone." He explained.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. Will it take long?"

"No, it shouldn't."

"Alright"

With that Law entered the closet his mind going a hundred miles an hour.

"_Has she really never had a physical before? Are there no doctors where she's from? Regardless this works in my favor, if she's never had one she won't know what a normal is like. This means I can take extra liberties and give her a more thorough examination. I'll be able to see what else sets her apart."_ Law thought as he found what he needed.

The question was would she let him regardless of whether or not she knew what to expect. It was hard to know with her, she might not care or she might not want him near her any longer than strictly necessary. Either way he'd find out soon enough.

He paused before leaving; wondering if he would need any anesthesia to use on her. He decided against it, he only used it the Old Man because one of the bullets had hit a bone and he'd needed to remove the pieces from his shoulder. If Fierce proved a difficult patient to work with he'd just numb the area, no need to waste any if it wasn't necessary.

When he reentered the room he was shocked at what he saw, he almost dropped what he was carrying. Fierce was sitting on the table swinging her legs like a child naked as the day she was born. Her clothes were in a messy pile next to her and she seemed completely at ease with her nudity.

He hadn't been expecting that. He thought she'd be in her underwear or at least keep her pants on. Not even his crew was comfortable being completely naked during a physical, and she was woman that automatically should have made her shyer. He was a man after all and a pirate on top of that, but she didn't seem worried. She didn't need to be really, he may have been a pirate was he still a doctor. This didn't temp him, at least not while inside this room or the infirmary. In here he was a doctor and she was the patient, nothing more. It was still a surprise though.

Fierce looked at him wondering what was taking so long.

"Are you going do something or are you just going stand there?" Her voice brought him out of his musing. With his smirk back in place he approached her.

"Of course Miss Fierce, I just need to wash my hands. Do you need me to numb the area before I remove the bullets?"

Fierce frowned in thought as she considered his question. She never been offered that choice before and she'd been hurt worse than this.

"I don't need it." She replied confidently.

"_We'll see,"_ Law thought.

He decided to start with the one on her back. He picked up a pair of tweezers, but before he could start to dig out the bullet her spine caught his eye. It was impossible to see when she had clothes on, but the bones that made up her spinal column were raised. They stood out more than they should have for someone who wasn't under weight.

His curious medical mind was fully awakened and he carefully probed her back with a gloved hand. She was lean but nothing but strong muscle lined her body, he could feel it twitching under her skin. Speaking of her skin, there was more than just muscle under it. He could something firm, hard lying beneath the surface. It was even partially visible in some places, particularly around spine and shoulder blades. It showed up as irregular patterns on her skin. It almost looked like it was trying to push its way out of her skin.

"What are you doing? I thought you were going to pull that bullet out, but all you've done is poke at me." Fierce's agitated voice brought him back to his current task.

As much as he wanted to keep examining what he found to be a fascinating subject he had a job to do. If he took too long she might get fed up and leave before he could finish.

"My apologies, I thought I'd check you for scoliosis while I was back here." He lied smoothly; it was obvious even from a distance that her spine was perfectly fine.

"Scoli- what?" Fierce asked confused, she'd never heard of it before.

"A condition in which the spine curves from side to side, depending on the severity it can cause problems." Law kept his explanation simple, knowing she wasn't like to be medically literate if she'd never even had a physical.

She seemed to except his explanation as she settled back down and let him work. Law took this time to look more carefully at the hole the bullet had made. He was surprised to see it hadn't gone in very deep, her strange coat most have slowed it down enough to keep it from traveling very far.

He began to probe it for the bullet with his tweezers. He felt her tense and heard her hiss in pain, but otherwise she was still, good. Grabbing a hold of the bullet he gently pried it from her flesh. As he did he saw something odd. Thin bits of something were sitting just under her skin like they had every right to be. He could only see them at the edges of her wound where the skin was torn and he could see the layers. This was he'd felt under her skin earlier, but what were they?

He needed a piece, a sample, but how to get one without alerting her? He managed to remove the bullet and was cleaning the wound with antiseptic as he thought. He smile mildly amused when Fierce jumped at the stinging it produced. Needle and thread ready, he began to carefully stitch the hole closed. This was not an easy task.

Those odd colorless pieces were proving to be a problem. He couldn't force the needle through them so he had to feel around with the needle to find gaps between them, thankfully there were many. Suddenly he was struck by inspiration. He knew how to get one.

"Miss Fierce," he said.

"Yes," she answered with gritted teeth. Whatever he was doing with that needle freaking hurt! But she wasn't about to let him know that.

"There's a fragment of the bullet I missed and I need to remove it. This will hurt, you should brace yourself." He hadn't missed anything, but it was the perfect excuse to pull something out with his tweezers without arousing her suspicions.

"Do what you have to." Fierce replied not really caring, how much more could it possible hurt?

With that he gripped one of still exposed pieces and yanked it out at angle. Fierce immediately leapt off the table with an inhuman cry. Turning on Law she yelled.

"What the hell did you do!?"

Law was calmly placing a bloody scrap in some gauze. His looked pleased about something.

"My job Miss Fierce, and if you'll sit back down I'll finish with your back and see to your other wounds."

Fierce looked suspicious for a moment before sitting back down. He did something like that again and she'd claw that grin right off his face, literally.

Law was feeling quite pleased with himself, he'd gotten what he wanted and she seemed none the wiser. He would examine it more closely later. What he could tell right off the bat was it was firm but flexible, he couldn't wait. For now he'd settle for treating her wounds and looking over the rest of her body for other oddities.

Looking back at her shoulder he saw that he'd torn some of her skin when he'd removed the object and undone some of his work. He was a bit disappointed with himself for being so sloppy, but it was a small enough price to pay for knowledge.

He re-cleaned her wound and finished applying the sutures. He moved on to her arm and saw that it to possessed subtle differences from a normal human's arm. The bones that made up the elbow joint were more defined, just as the ones on her spine had been. As he felt along it, right past the tip of her elbow, running down the side of her forearm was a series of five small lumps. They were almost tiny; they made him think of the spines on a lizard only not fully formed.

The wound on her arm was easy enough to treat, it was only a graze. There too he saw the strange bits, but they were smaller than the ones on her back. He discovered that they were more visible on areas were there wasn't much but bone underneath. Except for places like her face and hands, but he suspected that this was probably because they were even smaller in size in those areas. Likely those places didn't need the same amount of protection as her back or vital organs.

He felt her eyes on him throughout the whole process, waiting for him to make a wrong move. It didn't bother him in the slightest he was so caught up in his exploration. He might need to be more forgiving of her attitude if for no other reason than to keep her around so he could learn more about her, and what exactly she was.

Could she be one of those awakened zoans he'd heard about? He quickly dismissed the thought. She couldn't be, from what he'd heard they looked completely like animals and couldn't speak.

"_Then what else could she be?"_ He asked himself as he tended the cut on her hand. If need be a simple dip the ocean would prove whether or not she had eaten Devil Fruit, so he'd keep that option in mind.

As he'd suspected the bits in her hand were even smaller. He also noticed that they were a little scratched up. They were enough to provide extra protection, but they didn't make her invulnerable.

He finished wrapping the cut and stepped back, wondering where to begin the second part of his examination. He'd already completed part of it do to his eagerness. He chose to start with the basics and check her eyes, ears, and reflexes.

He was careful to explain each thing he did so he wouldn't alarm her. He also didn't want to agitate her anymore than he already had. He was surprised at how tolerant she'd been so far, but that might have something to do with the fact that the Old Man was in the room with them. She seemed very protective of him.

He made careful notes as he went along; she was a model for physical fitness. Everything checked out perfectly. Though when he'd tried to check her throat and stomach he'd almost lost some fingers when she tried to bite him. Apparently she didn't want anyone near her throat and wasn't going to lie on her back for someone else for any reason. He'd quickly backed off and checked her as best he could while she was in a sitting position.

Then he took her height and weight, she was 5' 8 ½" and 137 pounds. He weighed her twice to make sure his scale wasn't broken, she looked about 15 pounds lighter, interesting. He filed that anomaly away for later consideration, now it was time to ask her some questions.

He wasn't sure what to do with his answers, as it turned out the closest she'd ever been to a true illness was one time when she'd eaten some bad meat raw, he'd felt a little queasy himself when she told him. Another time she'd had a fever for three days after being bitten by a snake. When he'd asked her about past injuries and broken bones he'd had to stop her, otherwise he'd have needed an entire drawer in his filing cabinet just for her. Her family was just as volatile and rough as she was and evidently liked to wrestle.

"Are we done yet?" Fierce asked, her patients finally reaching its end. She didn't want to start a fight in an enclosed room where her Old Man was recovering, but was sick of being poked and prodded.

"Yes, this is plenty for your record. You can go now." Law responded after a moment's thought, it wasn't everything he wanted to know but it was a start.

"I'm staying here." What she meant was that she was staying with the Old Man.

Law felt his brow twitch in irritation but he let it slide, if it kept her out of trouble on his ship fine. He stood to leave, there were a few things he needed to see too.

"Don't touch anything in here." He ordered.

She looked him dead in the eye and said, "I won't."

Something about the way she said it made him believe her, and he was able to leave the room without fear that she'd ruin something.

Right then his top priority was examining the sample he'd gotten from her.


	9. A Few Introductions

**Important Author's Note Please Read**

**AN: I'm entering the final stretch of the semester, and as a college student that means final tests, final papers, and final exams. That's what I'm going to be focusing on the next few weeks so don't expect updates to be as quick as they have been, but don't worry it'll pick back up again once I'm on winter break.**

**On a lighter note I'm a little sad no one accepted the challenge I posted in an earlier chapter so I'll up the ante. If someone can correctly guess a special ability I've given Fierce I will dedicate a holiday one shot to you featuring Fierce celebrating her first Christmas with the Heart Pirates, which will be her first Christmas period. Just post your guess in a review or PM me I check my inbox fairly regularly (Read and review! It keeps me motivated!)**

**Girl-luvs-manga: Close but no dice. As you'll recall both her parents ****are**** were perfectly ordinary humans. She does have some dragon in her but I wouldn't call her a half-breed exactly. I can't explain w/o giving away the surprise so please be patient. There is a method to my madness.**

**10****th**** Squad 3****rd**** Seat: As I said before thank you for pointing out that error.**

**Mimi: Glad you like this story, it always makes my day to hear it.**

* * *

A Few Introductions

Fierce sat perched on the corner of the Old Man's bed; she hadn't left his side since Law had finished treating her wounds. She hadn't even bothered to put her clothes back on, but she didn't really care to wear them in the first place. She stayed by him, a silent guardian while she waited for him to wake up.

She was fighting off the urge to sleep herself. She'd been running on adrenaline on the way to the submarine. After that she'd gotten another jolt when Law yanked something out of her shoulder. She frowned when the injury started to throb again at the thought. Just what had that fool done? Whatever it was it had hurt!

Then he'd had the gall to try and touch her throat of all things. There were only two reasons why you touched someone's throat. One was to tear it out. The other was to show affection. The other person had to let you do it. It was a sign of trust. She certainly didn't trust Law.

He'd even tried to make her lie on back. Did he really think she'd submit to him? Fat chance of that happening.

She started to growl quietly, the only reason she'd even let him poke at her as long as she had was because she was so tired. She'd been past the point of caring and had sat there and taken it so he would leave her alone, and who did he think he was telling her not to touch anything? She knew that!

Everything in this room was _his_. She wasn't going to touch anything that belonged to someone else, not without their permission. She didn't even like this room, it smelled wrong to her. It had an almost too clean smell to it, an absence of scents she'd expect in a room that was used by other people. There was another odor that hung in the air, it tickled at her nose and made her nauseous. She didn't know what to call it, maybe the Old Man knew. **(AN: if anyone's wondering its bleach and disinfectant she smells.)**

Thinking of him brought her out of her thoughts and she turned her attention back to the Old Man. She was so tired and watching him sleep wasn't helping her stay awake.

"_I'll just rest my eyes for minute."_ She decided.

She lay down at her friend's side, careful not to disturb him and shut her eyes. In spite of her determination to stay alert, she quickly drifted off to sleep herself. Worries and concerns disappeared as she fell into the land of dreams.

_**9999999999999999999999999999 9999999999999999999999999999 999999999999999999999999999**_

With Law

Law had retreated to his room which also doubled as a second office for him. He slept irregularly; it showed in the bags under his eyes. He kept papers, files, and basic equipment at his desk for his personal use. His room also held a bookcase, its own bathroom, a comfy chair to read in, a dresser, medical diagrams on the walls, and a fairly comfortable bed.

After setting his nodachi in its usual corner, where it was within reach, he sat at his desk and took out his bloody prize. Pulling it from the gauze with a pair a tweezers, he carefully rinsed the blood off in his personal sink. What he found startled him. It was a scale, a reptilian one if he was to judge, bits of skin and flesh still clung to it.

He sat back down at his desk and stared at it puzzled. She claimed not to be a zoan, and she didn't act like an awakened zoan. He didn't know what she was or where she was from, but he planned to find out. She had become a little mystery, something for him to ponder and keep boredom at bay.

He sat back in his chair, a lazy smile on his face. He wasn't about to let go.

_**9999999999999999999999999999 9999999999999999999999999999 999999999999999999999999999**_

Back with Fierce, a Few Hours Later

Fierce was resting peacefully, giving her body a much needed break. However; she slowly drifted back to the waking world when she heard the sound of voices nearby.

"Why is she naked? I thought you said she was our new nakama."

"She is you idiot!"

"Why isn't she wearing anything then? She and the captain have fun? OW!"

"You know he doesn't allow anything like that in here. He probably had to take her clothes off when he cleaned her wounds, and keep it down you'll wake her up."

She thought she was dreaming as the voices still sounded far away.

"So why didn't she put them back on? And don't tell me to be quiet; you're the one making all the noise."

"Maybe she was too hot?"

"Shut up Bepo, that's something only you would do!"

"I'm sorry."

"So weak!"

At the sound of several voices exclaiming in chorus, Fierce realized that she wasn't still dreaming, and that there were in fact other people in the room. She quickly jolted into a sitting position and turned to face the intruders teeth bared and growling.

It didn't get the reaction she expected. Instead of backing away in fear they all collapsed onto the ground with nose bleeds, except for Bepo who wisely took a few steps away from the startled predator.

Fierce could only stare dumbly at the fallen human males, wondering what had just happened. She hadn't hit them and nothing else had, so why were they bleeding?

"_Humans are so weird."_ She decided that she would never have a full understanding of the odd species.

She chose instead to direct her attention to Bepo, the most sensible person in the room, besides herself anyway.

"What's going on? Why are you all in here? I thought Law had you on watch duty." Fierce hadn't meant to fall asleep and knew she had probably missed out on a few things because of it. She was a little ashamed at how easily she'd let her guard down in unknown territory, while her Old Man was injured no less.

"Captain sent us to check on you since you're new, and he did, but I don't need to be any more because we're submerged." Bepo answered, and then he offered the tray he'd been carrying.

"He had us bring you some food too."

Fierce zeroed in on the tray baring a plate of fresh bread and a still steaming bowl of soup. How she had not noticed that tantalizing aroma was beyond her. She was really having an off day.

Regardless she happily accepted it and tore into the bread. While she chowed down the men on floor began to recover and picked themselves up.

"Aren't you going to get dressed?" One asked who she identified as Shachi.

"hy hould ah?" She mumbled around a mouth full.

"Errr. . . aren't you embarrassed?" Asked another she didn't know.

None of them knew how to answer her question. You simply didn't sit in a room full of people buck naked eating like there wasn't a thing wrong with it. It was common sense, though it was hard to say she eating. Did she have any table manners?

Both questions were quickly answered when she muttered a quick no and moved on to her soup. She fished pieces of meat and vegetable out of the hot liquid with her fingers and popped them in her mouth. They watched in horrified fascination, embarrassment forgotten as she did so. Just who had joined their crew?

After she'd picked out the solid bits she gulped down the piping hot liquid with relish. One thing she was quickly coming to enjoy about humans was their cooking. They were absolute geniuses, even if they did over cook their meat.

Hunger satisfied, something else Bepo said to her began to bother her.

"What did you mean when you said we were submerged?"

"Well," unknown number 2 started, trying not to look directly at her.

"We're under water right know, the Navy came looking around the docks about an hour ago, so we went under."

Fierce went perfectly still as her mind processed this, one terrifying thought stood out from the others. She hoped she was wrong.

"How do you keep the water from coming in?" She asked slowly.

They all looked at each other, trying to decide who should answer. Unknown number 1 lost the stare down.

"Well, we seal up the ship so nothing can get in or out."

"_In or out," _that phrase played in her head and panic set in. She was trapped, there was no way out. Her breathing became quick and irregular as her eyes darted around and her hands shook.

"Hey are you okay." One the humans asked her, concerned with her reaction. She was having a panic attack. She had to get out of there.

She swiftly stood and shoved her way through them, ignoring their protests, escape the only thing on her mind.

"Fierce calm down, you're fine. You'll be able to go outside once we resurface." The sound of the Old Man's voice cut through her fear clouded mind.

She turned back to see him struggling to sit up. "You'll be fine for a little while. This ship is meant to do this."

"Old Man!" She happily exclaimed as she ran back over to give him a hug, relieved he really was all right.

"ACK! Let go, let go! You know I can't just bounce back the way you do." The Old Man gasped out as Fierce's tight grip agitated his injuries.

"Sorry, sorry," she said with smile as she released him.

"And please in the name of that's still good in the world, PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!" He said after he got a good look at her. Turning his attention to the others still occupying the room he continued.

"And you three! Have some decency and turn around you perverts." Said perverts jumped to obey, something about the way he spoke made them want to listen.

While he scolded the three pirate mechanics Fierce grudgingly dressed herself. Her relief was beginning to fade away and she was fighting to keep from panicking again.

"You're feeling better?" She questioned, hoping a conversation would serve as a good distraction.

The Old Man settled back down on his bed, tired still.

"Yes, I'm fine Fierce. Whatever else that man may be he is an excellent doctor." The Old Man reassured her, after all it was true and the last he wanted was for Fierce to have a fit while they were trapped underwater.

"Does anyone know how long I was out for?" He directed his question at the pirates.

"Oh, you down for about four hours I think." Shachi said.

"That long?" No wonder Fierce was so edgy.

"Who are you anyway? I fear I've neglected to learn your names." The Old Man said, trying to be courteous, after all they'd be living with these people from now on.

"I'm Nicholas, but most just call me Nick." Said the one with shaggy brown hair and a lavender cap.

"I'm Cae, welcome aboard." Said another with a pinstriped grey fedora and an easy smile, he was taller than Nick and a bit thicker too. The hat looked odd with his boiler suit.

"And I'm Shachi, one of the head mechanical engineers on this ship; it's my job to make sure these idiots don't sink us." Shachi seemed to be friendly, and was easily recognized by his blue and red casquette.

"Hey!" They others protested, offended by his statement.

"When will we be able to resurface?" Fierce asked, unable to completely set aside her fears.

"Don't worry it shouldn't be much longer, the marines are already gone. We're just staying under a little longer as a precaution." Cae informed her, hoping to prevent another panic attack. What was there captain thinking putting a claustrophobic in a submarine?

Fierce relaxed, reassured that this wasn't going to last forever.

"So your name's Fierce right?" inquired Nick.

"Yes," she said distractedly.

"Did you really take down a platoon of marines by yourself and go toe to toe with the captain?" Cae followed up, burning with curiosity. Penguin and Shachi had given their side of the events and it had quickly circulated to every member of the crew. He wanted it straight from the horse's mouth.

"Toe to toe?" Fierce questioned, unfamiliar with the phrase.

"He means did you fight him Fierce." The Old Man supplied seeing the confused look on her face.

Fierce nodded to him in understanding before answering. "Yes I did. The marines weren't much of a challenge, but your captain put up a good enough fight." More than good enough, but she wasn't about to compliment him if she could help it.

"That's amazing! But don't you mean our captain? You're a part of this crew now to." Cae said, not offended by her lack of respect for their captains fighting ability. He figured she was just trying to make herself look better.

"He's not my captain!" Fierce turned on them snarling deep in her throat.

They all leapt back, it looked like Shachi and Penguin hadn't been exaggerating about anything. She really did act a bit like an animal.

"Yes he is Fierce, you made a deal with him and you have to honor it." The Old Man injected seriously.

"I know that! But I don't have to like it! Besides we never decided who was the strongest." Fierce bit out. She really wasn't happy with the situation, but she hadn't had much choice. At least she'd have her chance to settle their fight later if they were stuck together.

"Look at the bright side Fierce, this arrangement is actually rather beneficial to us." The Old Man continued, hoping to placate her.

It wouldn't do if she tried to kill Law, but he didn't think she would. Even if she hated it she understood the concept of a debt. Law didn't have to help them but he did anyway, even if it was to his own gain.

"How is this a good thing?" She questioned, while Cae, Shachi, Nick, and Bepo stood there watching them, heads going back and forth between the two.

"I was unable to acquire a Log Pose, these men undoubtedly have one to have made it this far." Fierce nodded, relaxing a little as he made a good point.

"And this ship too is a blessing. Ours is too small and wouldn't have lasted very long in these harsh waters."

Again Fierce had to concede a point; as much as she loved the little boat it had already begun to show signs of wear and tear from the abuse the Grand Line laid on it.

"_THE BOAT!"_ Fierce was once again filled with a sense of panic and a strong desire to leave the submarine, but for a completely different reason.

They'd left all their stuff, except for a few items Fierce had been unable to part with, on the ship. Anyone could go there and take it, take_ her_ things!

"We need to get to the ship!" She exclaimed while gathered up her bag and the Old Man's.

"Fierce calm down, what's wrong?" The Old Man asked confused.

"Our stuff's still there! What if someone took something?!"

"Fierce I'm sure it's fine, like I said that boat we took isn't the most impressive. I don't imagine anyone would think there was anything worth taking on it." He reasoned.

Fierce calmed marginally but not completely. She wouldn't be able to rest until she had her things back.

"Still, there's no reason to leave them there, they said the marines have already left we may as well do it now." Fierce threw back.

"Is it that important that it can't wait Miss Fierce?" Fierce stilled, only one person called her Miss and she'd recognize that lazy, smoky tone anywhere.

Turning around confirmed it, Law was back.

"Yes it is. I'm not going anywhere without my stuff." She was starting to growl, if he got in her way. . .

"Captain Law," the Old Man sensed Fierce's mood and was quick to interject, hoping to prevent bloodshed so soon.

"Yes?" Law turned his eyes to his patient.

"We have some supplies on that ship and some money, it wouldn't hurt to go and retrieve it." He was careful to phrase it as a suggestion. He remembered Law's warning.

Law turned it over in his head; it never hurt to have to more food and money. Not to mention they hadn't had the chance to fully restock the ship due to their little incident earlier.

"Very well, but we'll go in the sub. I don't want the marines after us while we're trying to transport goods between the ships." He pointedly ignored the look Fierce was giving him.

It went without a hitch. The Heart Pirates proved to be very efficient at raiding a ship. They stayed away from the room where the Old Man and Fierce slept though. Fierce had been clear that they weren't allowed to set foot in there or touch any of her things.

Fierce enjoyed the open air with Bepo for as long as she could before they submerged. It some convincing to get her back inside, but she relented when she was told it was only until they were out of sight of the island. The Naval Base had stepped up patrols and Law didn't want to waste any ammo on them this early on. It wasn't easy to find an island where they could restock since not many people used submarines.

She followed Penguin through the submarine to second floor where most of crew's quarters were. The Old Man had been moved to the infirmary, which was connected to the operating room. She was getting her own room.

"Here yah go! Not much but at least you don't have to share." He said cheerfully as he held the door open for her since her arms where full.

She stepped in and looked around. As he said it wasn't too big, but it wasn't small either. Law had his men clear out a storage room for her so she wouldn't feel as caged in. Shachi and Nick had told him about her little episode in the operating room.

It had a cot and a small dresser but not much else. It didn't bother her; she didn't have much need for furniture anyway. This room was hers and that was all that mattered.

"You'll have to share a bathroom but we have a schedule so you don't need to worry about that." Penguin watched as she placed her bags down and looked at walls of the room.

"Is there any way to put some hooks or shelves up?" She finally asked.

He blinked surprised at the question and at how nicely she asked.

"_Maybe she's settling in."_ He thought.

"Hmm, I don't think that'll be a problem. I'll need to look and see if we have any lying around. If not we can get some at the next island."

"Great!" She was smiling at him and he realized that she was in fact a pretty girl, weird and violent but still pretty. He smiled back; things weren't going to be very quiet with her around that's for sure.

"Now get out." She said bluntly.

"What?" He asked confused.

"This is _my _room so get out. You can come in when you install the shelves but other than that no one's allowed in here but me. Get it human?" Her stance had become less open and friendly and more threatening.

He held up his hands in surrender and slowly backed out the door, instincts telling him not to turn his back to her. He quickly closed the door behind him. He stood there for a while and could hear her pacing about inside.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, almost knocking his cap to the ground. He wondered not for the first time just who exactly had joined their crew.


	10. Treasures of All Kinds

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or the canon parts of the story. All credit goes to Eiichiro Oda. I do one my OCs and the non-canon parts of the plot.**

**AN: I'm pretty happy right now; more people added this story to their alert lists and favorites and I got 6 reviews for the last chapter. I even got a bit ahead of myself and started thinking about Fierce's post-time skip outfit. =P Since I start winter break soon I might just take the time to draw them out and post them on my Deviant art account. Thank you everyone who wished me luck on my finals, I'll need it.**

**10****th**** Squad 3****rd**** Seat: Yes she would have.**

**Shiningheart of ThunderClan: I'm not going to get into the nature vs. nurture argument, we'll probably never know. I know I told you Fierce's reading level is pretty decent, but I'll try to explain a bit more. She can spell and figure out how to pronounce words and take a guess at what they mean. But if you hand her a medical text book or a romance novel she'd be lost.**

**Bloodplus 103: you think Fierce is cute? I'm glad. I tried to keep some childish qualities in her because her brothers are still considered to be juveniles and that was what she was around all the time. I also want her to be mature in some ways since she hasn't had an easy life. Am I succeeding or am I failing? I want her to grow up over the course of this story.**

* * *

Treasures of All Kinds

Fierce paced around her new room, eyeing and exploring every corner. The lack of furniture was proving to be a blessing; it gave her plenty of space to move about. Examination finished, Fierce went over to the bags and crates she'd brought with her.

Some were the Old Man's, she planned on holding them for him until he had his own room to place them in, and the rest were hers. Inside were various objects and gifts she'd collected over the years.

There were books and treasures from pirate ships. She may not have understood why humans went crazy over gold coins but she loved colorful jewels and liked well crafted jewelry and statues as much as anyone else. Possibly more than some, her current favorite was a cleverly made snake necklace. It was made of fine gold chains woven together in a way that mimicked scales on a real snake and rubies for eyes.

In other bags she had pelts, skins, and bones from hunts and kills she'd found challenging and memorable. Including fine furs, leathers, and scales of varying sizes and colors, even some leftover hide from the Mad Crawler whose scales made up her coat. (**See side story Lazy Day So Why the Coat chapter 2 for more details.)** She was rather proud of the assortment of skulls, claws, horns, and other bones she'd gathered over the years.

The Old Man had given her some lovely items as well. His gifts were practical in their own way. He'd made the coat she now wore. He'd gifted her with books to read when she was bored, made her a wooden comb to tame her hair when it was still long, and given her knives to use.

She carefully pulled out a broken silver mirror and observed her reflection in the remaining glass. It had been a year since she'd last looked at herself. She admired the Old Man's handy work, appreciating that her new hair cut would be much easier to manage.

The mirror had been a gift from him as well. She'd been startled when she saw herself clearly for the first time. She'd been disappointed at how easily it broke, but she kept it anyway unable to part with it.

She hadn't been able to bring everything with her, there hadn't been enough room on their small boat, but she brought her favorite things. It had been almost painful for her to leave her treasures behind, but she felt reassured by the fact that her family would guard them for her until she came back. When she did return she'd new treasure to add to her collection.

She hoped they'd be able to install the hooks and shelves soon so she could tack up her hides and display her treasures. For now she'd settle on knowing they were safe and within reach.

She considered the cot for a moment, debating whether or not she wanted to sleep yet. It was nighttime, and despite the nap she'd had earlier she was still tired.

She no longer feared being trapped inside the sub since they'd surfaced, and she knew how to get the door from her room. It also helped to know that they to resurface at some point. She didn't think she'd last long though if they had to stay under for a long time. She still felt a certain level of anxiety being so completely enclosed, and did her best not to think about it at all. Instead she tried to imagine she was just in a cave.

Still she wasn't sure if she was comfortable sleeping there. She didn't know where she stood with the others, and she wasn't used to sleeping alone. She'd always slept with her brothers in a warm lumpy pile, snuggled up with her father, or with the Old Man.

Her family was back on Savage Island and the Old Man was still in the infirmary, which she wasn't sure how to get to. She shook herself as a wave of homesickness washed over her. This was why she left, to start an adventure, to prove she was strong enough to make it. Yet here she was hesitating to sleep alone.

Determined to prove she could sleep alone, even if it was just to herself. She laid down on her cot and stared at the ceiling and waited for sleep to come. She stayed that way for while before turning over on her side, then the other.

After a while she tried a different approach. She took out all her hides and piled them on the cot. Hoping it would feel more like home, she arranged herself on the lumpy mass. It did help her relax a bit more, but sleep still evaded her.

Fed up, she decided to try and find the Old Man. She'd stay with him at night at least until he fully recovered. She figured his injuries were also troubling her and making it hard for her to sleep. She'd be fine after he healed and she didn't need to worry about it anymore.

Before she left she remembered how he was about her not wearing clothes around him and other people. She quickly slipped on her coat and held it shut with her belt.** (Yes, she's not wearing anything underneath it.)**

She hesitated outside her door and listened. The sub was silent save for the sounds of the machinery. She could no longer hear conversations echoing down the metal hallways, she didn't mind.

She wondered through the ship, not giving much thought to which halls or stairs she took. Initially she had been seeking her Old Man, now she saw it as good chance to explore the place that was meant to be her new home.

She didn't open many doors; some of them could have been her new crewmates' rooms. She had no desire to intrude into their space, she'd been raised better.

She found what she assumed was the mess hall, it had long wooden tables and she could smell food inside an attached room.

Next she stumbled across a room with levers and lights. It still had men inside watching over the controls and ensuring the ship was safe.

Later on she found a door that hadn't been closed all the way, she almost ignored it but she felt the heat radiating from inside. Within she discovered a large metal cylinder with pipes and such attached to it. It was rather warm and the rumbling noises it made once again made her think of her family.

She frowned briefly at the thought before an idea came to her. She swiftly scanned the room and found no one else inside or any evidence that someone resided there.

She couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. Since no one lived there she saw no issue with sleeping there for the night. It was just until she had a chance to get used to sleeping alone, and she wouldn't be bothering anyone.

Satisfied with her logic Fierce curled up as close to the boiler as she could. She soon fell asleep and didn't bother to take her coat off again.

* * *

Next Day; Early Morning

The Old Man was resting peacefully and slowly began to wake up. It was more out of habit than a desire to as he was still sore and tired from the events of the day before. Knowing he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep he ran a callused hand through his salt and pepper hair.

"I see you're awake now." A calm, smoky voice reached his ears. Looking over he saw his doctor and new captain Trafalgar Law.

"It would seem so. Did you need something, sir?" He called him sir out of habit.

Back when he was still actively working as a shipwright he had always addressed his superior officers as such, though it was hard to think of the young man before as his captain when he dressed so casually.

"You're certainly more polite than your friend, and I need to change your bandages and check your stitches." To further make his point he held up a new roll of them before setting them on a nearby table.

The Old Man couldn't help but wince, it wasn't that Fierce was trying to be impolite, usually, it was just what she considered to be good manners was very different from everyone else's idea of politeness.

"You can blame her family for that, they're rather . . . unusual." He explained cautiously.

"Hmmm," was Law's noncommittal response as he finished washing his hands.

After helping the Old Man to sit up and recline on some pillows, he slipped on some gloves and inspected his work.

"So you've known Miss Fierce for a long time?" Law probed as he un-wrapped the bandages.

The Old Man was silent, he couldn't tell if it was a question or if Law was stating a fact. If he was asking a question he would need to be careful with his answers, he didn't quite trust the man.

"Yes, quite a while now, I'm actually surprised I haven't gone bald yet." He said in a joking manner, hoping to answers Law's questions without giving away too much.

"You're both from the same place then?" Law continued, not at all deterred.

"In a manner a speaking, we're not true natives to the island but it's where Fierce grew up."

"Which island?" It wasn't a question this time, it was a demand.

The Old Man cursed, he wondered if it was old age or whatever drugs they'd given him for the pain that were addling his wits.

"Savage Island," he said after a moment's hesitation, he knew he couldn't afford to gain this man's ill will. Not when Fierce and his situation was so precarious.

"Savage Island?" Law had never heard of it.

"Not many people would know of it." He stated, taking a stab at what Law was thinking.

"It's fairly remote and not many leave it." _"While they're still alive at least,"_ he added mentally. "We had to use an Eternal Pose."

Law turned this over in his head while he eyed the stitches critically. It was still early, but they looked like they would heal quite nicely.

"So there is no one else like Fierce on the island?"

"Fierce is a unique individual but I'm not sure I would call her dissimilar from her family either." He wasn't sure how long he would be able to get away with such vague answers.

He would need to give away more details either because Law lost his patience or for the safety of everyone involved so they didn't set her off by accident.

"Is she similar or dissimilar by having scales under her skin?" The Old Man froze.

He hadn't thought that Law would find out about those while he was treating her injuries. Maybe he could play dumb?

"Scales?" He questions, trying to sound surprised.

It didn't work, Law had seen and felt him tense when they were mentioned, and he knew he was lying.

"Yes scales, like this one I found in her shoulder." He pulled the scale out his pocket and showed it the Old Man. He had him cornered.

The Old Man stared at it pale faced. He had to choose what to tell Law and what to keep to himself. Fierce's _father_ had been clear that he was in no way to even imply that Fierce was anything but his offspring and by their standards she was.

By human standards she would be called an adopted child. But he wondered how true that was. Fierce was not the same girl she was when they crash landed onto that island. Something had happened that night that changed her until she was no longer completely human. He only knew part of the tale and the only other person who knew everything wasn't going to say anything.

"The island she was raised on is filled with monsters and creatures that should only exist in dreams and nightmares." He said finally.

"The people who inhabit that island are not what you would traditionally think of as people. The culture there is strongly based on right equals might but it's more than that too. The ruling powers on the island claim bits of the island for themselves and permit others to inhabit it. Fierce was raised by one of these ruling powers and his sons, while I was her teacher."

He stopped for a moment and considered his next words.

"Before I continue I need you to agree not to say anything to Fierce, her father was very explicit when he told me that she was not to know anything about how she came into their family. She believes that they are her blood relatives and I want it to stay that way."

Law was silent as he thought about it, it was a reasonable enough request and he didn't care either way as long as he got his answers.

"What is said here will never leave this room."

"Very well, now where was I." He gathered up the memories in his mind and pieced them together, for the first time in almost twenty years he was going to tell his story.

"It began when her father, a man named Dill, came to us asking for passage to the next island. His daughter Layla had been born recently and he wanted to introduce her to her relatives. His wife Maribelle was going to come as well and that didn't sit well with my captain. He was rather superstitious and believed she would bring bad luck."

"Dill was a hard working man though, and had enough beli to convince my captain to let them onboard. It was fine the first few days, Maribelle and her daughter stayed out of the way and Dill help around the ship. He was a good man; I think we would have been friends had fate been kinder."

He paused and spared a moment of silence for those who died that night.

"It all went to hell when that storm came, you've sailed these seas long enough to know how cruel they can be. We were blown clear off course and got caught in a freak current. It took our ship and hurled her straight into some rocks. When we hit them we went air born, and crashed onto the shores of Savage Island. Those who didn't die when we hit the rock died then, most of us anyway."

"There were five survivors; my captain, Maribelle, Dill, Layla, and me. When I first woke I thought only I had survived, I'm not sure how I did. I crawled out of a pile of wreckage battered and bruised. I made my way out of the ship simply because I couldn't think of anything else to do. When I got out I saw my captain limping away and moving inland. I called out to him but he didn't seem to hear, he was after something. I followed him as best I could but when I finally caught up to him -!"

"Old Man!" Law and the Old Man quickly turned to the door as Fierce burst through, soon after he averted his eyes.

"Dammit Fierce, cover yourself will you?!" While she was sleeping her coat had come a little loose and opened to her naval in a wide V.

When she'd woken up that morning to sound of the door opening and the mechanic had fallen to the ground with a bleeding nose. She had to wait for him to come to before she could ask him how to get to the infirmary. She wondered why they did that. Perhaps she could ask the Old Man about it?

"You're always saying that." She grumbled as she fixed her coat.

"How are you?" She asked him while eyeing Law. Why was he here?

"I'm fine Fierce, Captain Law was just checking on my wounds." That seemed to pacify her.

"When will you be better?" She was ignoring Law now, even though he would have been the best person to ask.

"I'm not sure; Captain Law would be a better person to ask." He hoped he would be able to mediate the situation well enough to avoid bloodshed. Law looked annoyed at her sign of disrespect; he didn't like to be looked down on.

She turned to Law expectantly and waited.

Grudgingly Law said, "As long as he stays in bed for another day or two and doesn't do any heavy labor the stitches can come out in about two weeks."

"I see," she said with frown. Humans really were fragile.

She plopped down on the floor by the Old Man's bed and stayed there. She pulled a book out of one her pouches and started to read, it didn't look like she planned to leave anytime soon.

Law caught his eye and gave him a look that held a clear message, our conversation is not over, get rid of her.

"Um Fierce, isn't there something else you'd rather be doing? Surely you don't want to waste your day sitting in here with a tired old man?" He was starting to sweat, who would have thought a person could convey such a clear message with only their eyes. He made a mental to note to ask him if he had a bounty yet.

"I'm fine; I'll stay here and make sure you're okay."

He was touched; she really did try to take care of him and could be very sweet in her own way. He knew that she hated to be indoors for long if she could help it, but she was sacrificing her chance to go outside to be with him while he was hurt. That and she probably didn't trust Law enough to leave them in a room alone.

Law was still watching him.

"Actually Fierce could you do me a favor?"

She looked up from her book and waited for him to finish.

"I need you to go get my bag, I have something for you."

Her lit up when she that and she quickly exited the room.

"That won't keep her busy for long." He informed Law.

"Then I suppose we'll have to finish our conversation at another time Mr.-?"

It took him a minute to realize that he was asking for his name, it had been a long time since he'd even said it. Fierce always just called him Old Man.

"Stephen, my name is Stephen." It sounded strange and almost unfamiliar to his ears.

"Mr. Stephen, since we're short on time I need you to tell me anything I might need to know about Miss Fierce." Law's tone left no room for an argument. He had his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers laced to together, waiting expectantly.

Stephen sighed, he really didn't have much choice, and at least this lessened the chance of his new captain thinking he was crazy. Law seemed to have a very open mind.

"She can be very possessive of things she considers to be hers. These can be living things or inanimate objects. You should warn your crew not to go in her room for any reason unless she gives permission; she will not react well if they do. Likewise she will not go into anyone's room or touch their things. Also she doesn't to be cooped up for long, she gets stir crazy. When that happens it best to stay out her way, she won't hurt anyone but it's best to leave her be or let her out."

"She claims living things? Like people?" It would explain why she was so protective of Stephen.

"Yes, but like one owns a slave, as long as the other party is capable of communication it is a two way street. She belongs to me while I belong to her. It's common practice on that island." He tried to explain.

"So that's why she doesn't like anyone near you." Law mused.

"Well yes, that's part of it, but it's also because she doesn't trust you or hold you in very high regard."

Law looked at him sharply, he'd been aware of that, but it was different to hear it said out loud. Fierce was beginning to look like she was more trouble than she was worth.

Stephen seemed to know what he was thinking because he hastily added, "it won't always be like that, and she can be rather stubborn. She just needs time to adjust and get used to you. Her loyalty, respect, and trust are hard to earn, but once you have it it's even harder to lose. She listens to me because I'm hers and I've earned all those things. Give it time."

As Law was processing all this Fierce returned with Stephen's bag, "here it is! What'd you get while we were in town?" She sounded like a child.

Stephen pulled out the treats he'd bought for her at the sweet shop and handed them to her.

"I got you a candy called chocolate and some pastries that I fear are a bit squished."

Fierce eagerly ate up the pastries but hesitated at the chocolate. It wasn't like anything she'd seen at the market stalls; it was small, brown, and firm. It started to melt in hands so she licked it off her fingers to taste it. She froze when it touched her tongue.

"_Yum yum yum!"_

She rapidly polished off the rest of the box at an alarming rate while Law and Stephen watched eyes wide at the spectacle.

Once she finished, she meticulously licked each of fingers clean before turning to Stephen.

"Is there more?" She had a child like expression on her face that made him think of a begging puppy, too precious for words.

"I'm afraid not Fierce, and you need to be careful. Those are a treat and if you eat too many at once you'll sick." He lectured while she looked at her empty box forlornly.

Law stood to the side and looked on amused. It appeared Fierce had a sweet tooth, he could use that.


	11. I Don't Get You

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or the canon parts of the story. All credit goes to Eiichiro Oda. I do one my OCs and the non-canon parts of the plot.**

**AN: I'm back! Winter Break has officially started for me, I'll probably be working more but it's not the same as school work so I'll have plenty of time to work on this story.**

**10****th**** Squad 3****rd**** Seat: Fierce actually turned out a lot cuter than I originally intended for her to be, but I'm glad you like it.**

**Chocolateluver4ever: I'm always happy to hear that someone's enjoying this story, thanks for the review.**

**ladeste: Thanks again for helping me, I decided to dedicate my Christmas one shot to you as a thank you. It'll be mostly AU and just for fun but I hope you like it.**

**Girl-luvs-manga: Yes he is but, I wouldn't say he's satisfied just yet. X3**

**Shiningheart of ThunderClan: I had that hammered into my head when I took a psychology course and thought it was interesting that's why I remembered it.**

* * *

I Don't Get You

Fierce had regretfully thrown away her wrappers and returned to Stephen's side. Law finished checking him over under her watchful eye.

"I should take at look yours too Miss Fierce. If you'll sit down on one of tables I'll take care of it now." He said when he was done.

"Fine," she grumbled before starting to remove her coat.

She hoped they didn't need to be checked every day, which would be annoying. She'd have to deal with Law every time, and sadly if that was the case there wasn't anything she could do about it, she didn't know anything about stitches.

"Fierce what are you doing?!" Stephen shouted.

She looked at him dumbly for a minute before she replied.

"I'm taking my coat off so he can get to the stitches." She said slowly, as if explaining something to a child.

"You don't just strip in front of people, it's not lady like."

"He didn't say anything when I did it the first time." Fierce countered, jerking a thumb in Law's direction.

"What, the first time?!" Stephen asked aghast.

"Yes, I needed to see to her injuries as well. I'm a doctor Mr. Stephen, she is not the first naked woman I've seen, and I assure you I did nothing unseemly to her." Law calmly explained before Stephen could start on him.

Stephan hesitated before giving in; he knew a pointless fight when he saw one. "Very well, just hold your coat in front of you while he does alright."

Fierce sighed but did as he asked for his peace of mind. She was no expert, but she knew that stressing out while injured was not a good thing. Law unwrapped her bandages and looked over her wounds with the same discerning eye he gave Stephen's.

"_She heals quickly."_ He noticed.

The skin around the stitches was already losing its redness. The sutures could probably come out sooner than he anticipated. While he cleaned them another issue he needed to bring up with Stephen came to mind.

"Mr. Stephen, if you plan to remain on this ship you'll need to earn your keep like everyone else, I don't keep dead weight. Fierce is obviously a fighter, but what can you offer me.?" As he said this he felt Fierce tensed beneath his fingers, things had gotten a little dangerous.

There was no doubt in his mind that if Stephen left Fierce would go with him, even if she did owe him, however he wasn't about to abide free loaders. He hoped Stephen possessed some useful skills. After all he had escaped Savage Island with an Eternal Pose.

"I have some experience with navigation and I was shipwright back in the day. I haven't lost my touch I promise you." Stephen was quick to reply.

"Hmmm, very good but I don't have much of a need for a shipwright on a submarine Mr. Stephen." Law replied smoothly, completely ignoring the warning growl building in Fierce's throat.

Stephen wracked his brains, Fierce was doing the same, for anything he could offer the young pirate captain. . .! He was soon struck with inspiration.

"There is something else I can give you sir, something invaluable on these treacherous seas." He began. Law paused in his work and looked at him expectantly, curiously.

"Experience and knowledge, I was part of a merchant vessel crew before I was stranded and as such I am well traveled."

"Experience you say. What will that do for me?" Law questioned. He had an idea of where Stephen was going with this, and he hoped he wasn't wrong.

"Captain Law, not only have I been sailing these waters longer than you have but I have been too many different islands. Those I have not been to I may have at least heard of from fellow sailors (and captains' logs from anyone unlucky enough to end up on Savage Island). This is what I have to give you captain." Stephen took a breath and remained silent as he awaited Law's decision.

"_If what he says is true he's bound to know more about the Grand Line than anyone else on this ship, and they do say knowledge is power. This will give us an edge over the rest of the competition."_ He thought with a satisfied smirk, but before he could say anything Fierce gave her piece.

"He's good at sewing stuff to!" Law and Stephen looked at her, surprised by her outburst.

Fierce mistook their surprise as interest and continued. "He makes all the clothes he makes me wear." She held up her coat as proof.

Law for his part was amused while Stephen was just plain embarrassed. Men of the sea did not sew.

"Well there you go Mr. Stephen, I'll call on your knowledge as needed. In the meantime you can take care of any worn or torn uniforms my crew has and handle the laundry."

Law was finished with Fierce by then and began to leave while she got dressed. "Welcome aboard." He tossed over his shoulder with a smirk as he left.

Stephen hung his head with one question in his mind. "_Why?"_

"_I can't believe this, I was once a vital and respected member of a noble crew. Now I've been reduced to a library and a seamstress."_ A cloud of depression and hopelessness hung above his head.

Fierce watched Law until the door closed behind him and she was alone with Stephen. She went to his bed and sat in silence for while.

"Old Man, are you really feeling better?" She asked not, looking at him.

Stephen turned to her and observed her down cast face. A shadow hid her eyes from him, but he could the tension in her jaw.

"_She feels guilty about what happened. I'm hers after all."_ He realized.

"Yes Fierce I'm already feeling much better, I'll be up and about in no time." He tried to reassure her, but she remained on edge.

"Really Fierce you shouldn't worry, this is my fault anyway."

She perked up a bit at that. "It was pretty stupid of you to jump in like that."

Stephen sighed, resigned and put his hand her head to get her full attention.

"Fierce I know you don't like this and I know you aren't very fond of Law." She snorted at that.

"But I implore you, please try to accept it. Whether you like it not we are a part of this crew now, you need to at least try and settle in here. This ship is going to be our home."

"He thinks he's stronger than me." She spat out like child.

"He might be." Fierce looked at him stunned.

"Think about it, he did manage to cut off your arm." A grunt was the only reply he received.

"Fierce I mean it. You have to make an effort. These people are your new companions. They might even become your friends if you let them." He tried to reason with her.

"They're not mine, they're _his_." She snarled, pulling back from him.

"_So that's the problem. She doesn't accept Law so she doesn't accept anything that's his including the crew."_ He realized.

"That may be but you still have to live with them. I won't ask you to be friends with them if you don't want to be, but you need to try and get along with them. Please."

"Fine," she grumbled after a moment. "I won't start any fights, but they had better stay away from my stuff."

Stephen sighed again, this the most he could hope for.

"I wouldn't worry about that too much, I'm sure they'll give you your space." _"I did warn Law about that."_

"Who knows maybe someday they'll be yours too." He added hopefully, though she just scoffed.

* * *

The next few days Fierce stayed close to Stephen despite her strong desire for fresh air and open skies. She left to eat and to pace around when it became too much for her, but she was unwilling to leave him alone for long. A part of it was because he was still confined to the infirmary, another part of it was she sensed Law's interest in him. Why she didn't know and she didn't need to, she just knew she didn't like it.

After he was released from the infirmary she didn't hover as much and spent more time on deck. As Stephen suspected he would Law did pass on his warnings about Fierce to the rest of the crew. At first they were skeptical; Fierce didn't look like a threat at first glance and most just thought she was strange and ill mannered.

They soon learned otherwise when two members opened the door to her room to ask if she wanted to eat lunch with them. She may have been weird but she was cute, and according to the rumors she wasn't shy at all.

They were rewarded with a growl that didn't sound like it should not have of come from a human, a look that could have killed, and a knife thrown in their direction. They quickly apologized and made themselves scarce. They passed on their experience to the rest of crew who in turn gave her plenty of space after that.

They also started to notice things they hadn't thought to look for before. Like the way her eyes always darted around a room when she entered, taking in every little detail. How they held a predatory gleam in their depths when settled on you, assessed you, saw through you. The way she moved, so similar to a hunter on the prowl, she was not someone to be taken lightly.

Do to this, and her own unwillingness to interact with them, Fierce remained distant from everyone else. Stephen could only watch disapprovingly, there was little that could be done to make Fierce do something she didn't to do. Law was neutral about the whole affair, as long as she didn't cause any problems and did as she was told when the time came he didn't care what she did.

The only ones who weren't put off by her attitude were Shachi, Penguin, Nick, Cae, and Bepo. They'd all spoken with her and knew she wouldn't hurt anyone without a reason. They made it their mission to make her feel at home whether she liked it or not. Well Shachi, Penguin, Nick, and Cae did, Bepo was just Bepo.

Fierce for her part tolerated their actions, knowing they weren't threats and weren't trying to harm her. However; if they got too carried away she allowed her irritation to be known, and they were smart enough to back off.

It went on like this for about two and a half weeks before Shachi decided it was time for a new tactic. She didn't seem mind, most of the time, when they sat with her and Stephen at meal times or tried to talk to her when they weren't working. Sadly she remained on guard. They went to Stephen for advice.

"There really isn't a whole lot you can do I'm afraid."

"What do ya mean?" Penguin asked.

"Fierce is very stubborn, and. . .well you belong to Law and she doesn't like Law." He tried to explain.

"Huh? She doesn't like us because we belong to the Captain?" Cae scratched his head confused.

"It's has to do with the culture on Savage Island where Fierce grew up. You see there is a system revolving around- blast! I missed a stitch." He held up the sleeve he'd been repairing to examine his work while the pirates waited impatiently for him to continue.

"I'll have to undo a few stitches." He sighed.

While he wasn't entirely pleased with his new role he took pride in any kind of work he did and always tried to do his very best. He was actually pretty good at sewing, and had been making and repairing clothes for Fierce since she was small. Not that she enjoyed wearing them.

"You were saying?" Nick prompted.

"Hmm? AH yes. They have a system based on the concept of hoarding. They are very protective of what they claim as theirs."

"So that's why she almost took their heads off." Shachi said referring to the knife incident.

"Indeed," Stephan sweat dropped. "By her standards they crossed a line they had no business crossing. I know that they weren't after her things but she didn't know that, and they went into her territory." You didn't mess with someone else's things you only had that right after you killed them.

"But what does that have to do with why she won't even try to be friends with us?" Shachi questioned.

"Yeah, the only person she seems to be okay with is Bepo." Penguin added.

"He's an animal, so he's something familiar to her." He carefully pulled the thread out as he explained.

"Now as for the hoarding it isn't only land and object that claimed, living things are as well. It's complicated and even I don't understand all the ins and outs of it, but I do know that between two sentient beings it is a two way street. I belong to Fierce but she belongs to me as well."

"So she sees us as being the captain's property and since she isn't very fond of him she doesn't want anything to do with us." Cae said as he started to understand.

"I wouldn't say she wants nothing to do with you, normally I don't think she she'd be this much of a recluse. I think it something to do with the fact that your captain cut off her arm, she hasn't forgiven him yet. She's also been put in a totally unfamiliar environment."

The heart pirates were silent as took it all in; it was a bit difficult for them to wrap their minds around someone owning a person without them being their slave.

"So what can we do to get her to open up?" Nick wanted to know, it wouldn't do to have a crewmate that didn't trust them.

"I think you're doing pretty well on your own." They looked at him surprised by this statement.

"She's tolerating your actions instead of pushing you away. I think she likes you but is letting her pride get in the way. Give her time, and keep being a friend to her and she'll come around on her own." They smiled a bit at this, happy that efforts weren't being wasted.

As they left him to finish his work Stephen gave them one last piece of advice. "She also has quite a sweet tooth, get her some and she'll warm up to you rather quickly I think." He said with a wink.

They chuckle a bit at that but sober quickly when they heard a shout.

"LAND HO!"

* * *

**Finally to the next island, I've been really eager to get to this part. It'll be the first major conflict and my first antagonist. They went through a lot of changes while I was working on earlier chapters so I hope you like them. **


	12. Holiday Special: Christmas Presents?

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or the canon parts of the story. All credit goes to Eiichiro Oda. I do one my OCs and the non-canon parts of the plot.**

**AN: Alright here's the holiday special I said I'd right. Hope you all like it, and ladeste this one's dedicated to you. Little word of warning this is set in the New World and Law and Fierce are in a relationship at this point, not sure whether or not anything in here can be considered a spoiler but oh well.**

* * *

Fierce sulkily stared out of the window of the bar/inn the Heart Pirates were staying in. They were on a winter island in the New World. It had large animals that roamed it, some more dangerous and aggressive than others, but more than that it had snow. She hated the cold and she hated snow.

This island was worse than the winter islands in Paradise, at least they had been bearable. It wasn't too bad during the day when the sun was out it was after the sun went down that it became dangerous. Without the sun to warm the island it became so cold at night that you only opened a door or stayed outside if you wanted to die.

It didn't take long either, a couple of hours before the cold killed anyone stupid enough to stay out that late. Only the native animals had thick enough fur and fat layers to survive it.

She could go out during the day if she really wanted to, but it would require her to put on multiple layers of clothes. She didn't mind wearing clothes as much as when she first began her journey, but she didn't like the suffocating and confining feeling of heavy winter clothes. She didn't do it unless absolutely necessary.

This meant not only did she have to put up with the cold; she couldn't go outside to burn off excess energy. Not that she really wanted to. She couldn't wait for the Log Pose to set so they could move on.

At least every one else was trapped with her, even Bepo couldn't withstand the island extreme temperatures after sundown. So there she was, sitting by the inn's generous fire place on a couch while the others were off doing whatever, and staring out the window and bored out of her mind.

To try and alleviate her boredom she watched the town's people scurry about setting up decorations and carrying bright packages. This had been going on since they landed on the forsaken frozen waste land; she wondered what they were doing it for.

"Hey mister," she called out to the man running the bar.

"Hmm, you need something?" He said when he turned to her.

"No, but what's with all the decorations and stuff, is there a festival going on?"

"Not quite," he said with a smile.

"Then what is it?" She asked genuinely curious.

"It's all for a special holiday we have here on this island. It's called Christmas."

"Christmas?"

"Yes, it's a time for people who love and care about each other to gather together. We often exchange and give gifts as well, especially to the children." He explained, not surprised she'd never heard of the holiday before.

"Hmm," was all she said in reply as she mulled over what she'd been told.

She broke from her thoughts when she heard the front door open, she snapped to it and was halfway to her feet until she saw it was just Law, Bepo, and a few other random crew members. Law turned his smoky eyes to her before heading to the bar.

Bepo took a seat at a table and waited for someone to come serve him, carefully cradling Law's nodachi in his paws. The rest followed Law to bar eager for something to chase away the chill that had settled in their bones.

The island had an excellent selection of mulled and spiced wines and ciders, all served warm or hot. When they'd first arrived the bar tender had looked at her crewmates like they were idiots when they asked for cold beer. She couldn't blame the island's natives for that, if she had no choice but to live here she wouldn't want a cold drink either.

Law came over to her holding two mugs, one for him and one for her. He handed her a mug of hot cider, she still wasn't found of most alcoholic beverages but she loved cider. He settled on the couch next her with his own mug in his usual lazy manner.

"So how was your day Fierce?" He asked with off handed amusement, he knew very well what her day had been like, bastard, her bastard but still a bastard.

She just growled at him and took a generous gulp from her mug, the piping hot temperature not bothering her in the least.

"How much longer until the Pose sets?" She asked when she was done.

"It'll be another week before we can leave." The answer made her groan in frustration while Law watched with a smirk on his handsome face, stupid sadist was enjoying this.

She drained the rest of her cup and made herself at home on his lap, resting her head there with arms folded behind it. She began to think about what little the man at the bar had told her about Christmas. Maybe she could get a gift for her Law and her Old Man to help occupy her while she waited for the Log Pose to set. It had to be better than sitting here all day while everyone else was out having fun.

But what to get them? She wasn't quite sure, and it would mean going out into the cold. Still it was that or remain at the inn for another week doing nothing. If it came to that she would go berserk.

She decided to go ahead and get them something, and began to think of possible gifts. The Old Man would be easy to please, he was happy with anything she brought him for whatever reason. Perhaps she could get him a new set of carving knives. He sometimes made small wooden carvings in his free time and his set was old and dull.

Law was another matter; he didn't need any new medical equipment or a weapon. She stared up at him from her place on his lap, and watched him take small sips from his mug as his drink cooled while she thought.

She took in his feature, grey eyes and dark hair.

His hair! Recently his hat had been destroyed in a battle and his head had been bare since. He hadn't replaced it yet. She suspected that he'd been more attached to the thing than he was willing to admit. After all he'd preformed a special _surgery_ on the one responsible for its destruction.

She almost couldn't stop the shudder that tried to escape at the memory. His darker side still made her wary at times, but she didn't want him to change. If he did he wouldn't be her Law anymore.

Besides she really couldn't be upset with him over it. The fool had destroyed one of Law's possessions and that demanded retaliation. She may have felt that what he did was a bit excessive, but she would have killed him if it had been one of her things. Though technically it had been her hat to since Law was hers now. Maybe she should have helped?

Anyway getting back on track a new hat seemed like it would be the best gift for Law. Even better would be one that was like his old one.

"What are you thinking about?" Law's voice made her realize she was smiling at her thoughts.

"Don't worry about it." Was all she said, she wanted it to be a surprise.

"Hmm," he began to play with her hair.

He didn't press her for answers knowing it was pointless. If she didn't want you to know something she wouldn't say anything about it, but she wouldn't lie either she would just stop talking or change the subject. It was one of her many quirks. She still didn't like clothes all that much either he thought as he ran his eyes over her; they grew darker as he did so.

Fierce noticed the change immediately, bedroom eyes a whore at a bar had once called them. She knew what they meant and she wasn't about to say no. It was an excellent way to ward off the cold, and she gave him her wide fang revealing smile in response. The crew pretended not to notice.

The crew had once assumed that she didn't know what sex was, this was back in paradise when she had still been naive to many human things. She knew all about it to their surprise, the Old Man had given her "the talk". Not to mention all the times she'd seen lower animals mating in the woods.

What had surprised her was that humans did it for the sake of doing it. The crew had had a hard time deciding who was going to explain that to her. In the end it was Law who did it, fed up with his crews squabbling. It had been a very informative conversation. She still didn't know why they had been so embarrassed.

She'd take care of the gifts in the morning, but there was something else she wanted to do first.

* * *

When Law woke up the next morning he found himself alone. That was rather unusual, typically whenever Fierce spent the night with him he would wake up to find her curled into his side or on top of him. Especially since they'd come to this island, she wasn't willing to part with any source of heat.

He figured it had something to do with what had been occupying her thoughts the night before, but he wasn't worried. She was likely the most dangerous thing on the island besides himself. She'd be fine.

He rose from the bed and flexed his shoulders and felt a sting. She'd gotten a little carried away and dug her claws in too deep. It wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last time it happened either. He couldn't help but wonder if she'd down it on purpose this time though as pay back for teasing her.

He treated the small cuts before readying himself for the day ahead. He wasn't worried about her, but he couldn't help but wonder what she was up to.

* * *

Fierce was getting frustrated. She'd found the Old Man's gift easily enough, and for a good price, every where things were sale for the holiday to encourage customers to buy more. It was Law who was giving her trouble. While there were many furry and fuzzy hats to found in the winter island's stores she couldn't find one that she thought Law would wear.

She been wandering around in the cold for most of the morning trying to find him a hat, and it wasn't helping her mood at all. She'd gone through the trouble of bundling up and she still felt cold. Innocent bystanders sensed her foul mood, and were quick to give her some space.

She decided it was time to draw on the Old Man's knowledge once again. She could give him his present while she was at it.

She tracked him down at a small hole in the wall restaurant. He seemed to like places like that.

"Hey Old Man," she called out to him.

"Hmm," he looked up from hot cocoa when he heard her, and had to scramble to catch the box she'd tossed at him.

"What's this?" He asked.

"It's a present, it some tradition they have here." She explained.

"Ah yes, Christmas they call it I believe. You're a few days early on your delivery." She just shrugged in response not really caring if she gave it to him early or not. It was the thought that counted or something like that.

"I want to get something for Law but I can't find it anywhere."

"Well what did you want to get him?" He didn't ask why she was going out of her way. He already had a pretty good idea.

"A hat like his old one."

"Have consider making him one instead? I could help you." He suggested.

She blinked at that; it wasn't a half bad idea. Her infamous fanged smile spread across her face, she knew just where to go to get the perfect _materials_ for her new project.

* * *

Later Out in the Woods Surrounding the Town

Fierce was the hunt and quite happy to be. It had been a while since she'd taken the time to hunt animals instead of humans. Nothing got her blood hot and burning like a good hunting trip.

She was looking for one animal in particular, a snow shoe jackalope. They were a species native only to this island. She seen them at the fringes of the woods before but had ignored them after her initial observations, they were too small to be a threat.

Now though she was giving them her full attention. They were the perfect size to make a hat out of, and their antlers would make a decent trophy. Their softly speckled fur was just like the fur on Law's old hat to.

She heard a rustling in the winter grasses near her. As quietly as she could in the snow she crept up on the source of the noise. Nestled in the grass nibbling on some of the younger shoots was her chosen prey.

She eyed it and examined it for any obvious flaws or signs of illness. Round black eyes were clear and bright. Its fur looked lush and soft, and its button nose and whiskers twitched as it chewed. It wide feet and fluffy tail were well formed. Some would think it positively adorable, she was thinking of how best to kill it without staining its pale fur with blood.

She decided to simply snap its neck. Poor thing never saw it coming. She caught a few extra for the meat and for the fur. If she didn't end up using it on Law's gift she could keep it for herself, she could make some pillows or something.

She brought them back to the sub and skinned them in the kitchen and treated them to be made into a hat. She made sure to clean up her mess first so she wouldn't anger the ships cook. He didn't like it when she forgot to wipe up the blood.

The Old Man was waiting for her in his sewing room, ready to teach her a new skill. He knew this was likely to be a onetime thing. She didn't have the patience to make this a hobby.

* * *

The Next Day

It didn't turn out quite like his old one, she'd cut the fur the wrong way. There hadn't been enough to make a rim and there had been too much in the front. She'd already ruined the other pelts and didn't feel like getting more. She'd been half an inch from just shredding it before Stephen stepped in.

He suggested using the extra material to make a bill. It would help keep the sun out his eyes he said trying to keep her calm. She'd though about it and liked the idea. For her first attempt it really turned out quite well, but she'd had a lot of help to.

She and Stephen returned to inn around noon. The moment she was inside the toasty building she took off her winter gear as quickly as she could.

"Where's Law?" The crew milled about and Cai turned from the bar to answer her.

"He's holed up in your guys' room looking over something, I'm not sure what." She nodded to him in thanks and headed upstairs.

As he said Law was at the small desk that rested near the window looking intently at something.

"What are you doing?" She asked when it seemed he hadn't noticed that she'd come in.

"Just something to think about, where were you anyway?" He asked as he his papers away.

He didn't want her to see them, fine she'd let him have his secrets.

"Hunting, and Merry Christmas." She tossed the hat to him.

He caught it on reflex and examined it with a raised brow.

"So this is what you were up to." She just shrugged.

"You needed a new hat, you look weird without it."

"You've seen me without a hat before."

"That's different you always put it back on afterwards."

With a smirk he put the hat on. It was a perfect fit and quite warm like his old one. He examined himself in a mirror and was pleased with what he saw. She had surprisingly good taste.

"Better?" He said after he turned back to her.

"Much," she said with a smirk of her own.

"Where you find it?" He asked as he moved to recline on the bed.

"I made it," she said with no small amount of pride.

"Stephen helped you?" It wasn't really a question.

"Some," she admitted as joined him on the bed.

"Thought so," she playful nudged his throat her nose as she settle at his side.

In return his brushed his fingers against her throat. It was strange that such a simple gesture meant more to her than a kiss. It was the ultimate sign of trust to her. He couldn't complain though he wouldn't want a clingy emotional woman.

She was fairly easy to please to, perfectly content to simply be at his side. He rather enjoyed these quiet moments between them as well. They stayed that way for a while not caring about what needed to be done before they left. There would be time enough for that later.

* * *

**Not especially Christmassy but let's face it this is Fierce we're talking about, and don't worry I have the next chapter in the works. Merry Christmas!**


	13. Finally There

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or the canon parts of the story. All credit goes to Eiichiro Oda. I do one my OCs and the non-canon parts of the plot.**

**AN: Sorry for the long wait, life got in the way and I hope you enjoy this. Thank you everyone who has reviewed thus far. I'm especially happy that so many people liked my holiday fluff chapter. It wasn't easy writing one about someone (Fierce) who really doesn't care much for holidays.**

* * *

Finally There

Fierce was the first person on deck after she heard the shout, eager for the sight of solid, wide open, land. She was followed closely by Bepo and Law. The air around them was warm but not hot, it was likely a Spring island. She'd been trapped on the sub for far too long, and while the submarine provided more space for her to roam around than their old one she was more than ready to really stretch her legs. Maybe go on a little hunting trip, she missed that so much.

The island was still merely a dark blotch on the horizon but they were getting closer every second. She could hardly wait.

"My my so you are still on board. It's been so long since I've seen you I was beginning to think you'd jumped overboard," said a lazy drawl not too far from her.

She scowled her good mood instantly ruined. She turned to the source a let a low growl rumble deep in her throat. To her right stood Law smirking, he didn't seem at all intimidated by the animalistic noise she making, which wasn't helping her mood at all.

"There's no need for that Miss Fierce, I'm merely expressing concern for one of my patients. You haven't been avoiding me have you?" He certainly didn't sound or look concerned.

She knew that he knew that she had been avoiding him. She couldn't stand him, and as soon as he'd shown her how to take care of her stitches she'd avoided being in places where he was likely to show up like they contained a plague. In fact she'd only set foot in the infirmary once since the Old Man had gotten out, and that was to get her own stitches removed.

She seen him from time to time around the sub, it was unavoidable, but she never really stuck around unless her Old Man was there to. Law wanted something from him. She didn't know what but he wasn't going to get it if she had anything to say about it.

When she had no choice but to interact with him he seemed to go out of his way to irritate her. He would say things in that laid back insincere manner that just grated at her nerves. He would also purposefully place himself inside her space, well over her do not cross line.

He was testing the limits, her limits. Why she wasn't quite sure. She did know that if the Old Man wasn't there to play mediator she would have had a fit a long time ago. She really needed to get of this boat to burn off some energy and release some tension before she lost it.

"We should land sometime after sunrise tomorrow." The source of her currant irritation's voice brought her back to reality.

"Why it's right there? Can't we just keep going?" He turned to her before answering.

"We could but the suns going down, and we don't know if they a light house. Besides I want use this time to go over our supply rooms to see what we do or don't need before we land." With that he began to retreat back inside. This was mostly true. He did plan on using the extra time to check their supplies and make a list, but he also knew it would drive her crazy to see land in sight and not be able to get to it. He simply couldn't resist an opportunity to get under her skin. Baiting Fierce was quickly becoming a sort of game to him. To see just how far he could push her without setting her off, it was a dangerous game but that was half the fun.

"You know Fierce," Shachi said as came up beside her.

"We'll finally be able to get those shelves, hooks, and tack boards now." Penguin finished with a grin, coming up on her other side.

"We can!" That certainly lifted her spirits.

"Yep! You should come with us when we head into town to help us pick them out."

"Or you can go with Cae and Nick if the captain has us running errands." Shachi offered.

"That'd be great!" She exclaimed momentarily forgetting her ire.

Satisfied with cheering her up they followed after their captain into the sub to get back to work. This left Fierce on deck by herself staring at the distant island longingly. She couldn't wait till they landed. Stupid Law making them wait, he probably did this just to irritate her and it was working. Oh how she despised him.

What none of them noticed was a dark speck circling above them then flying back to the island.

* * *

Back at the Island

A cross between a man and a Long Eared Owl flew through a large window into a lavishly but tastefully decorated room. It was mostly dark, but a figure reclining on a couch could just be seen. ( If you don't know what a long eared owl looks like look up some pictures, they're pretty cute.)

"What do you have for me?" Questioned a sensual voice, slightly husky but pleasing to the ear.

The owl Zoan didn't bother to change back before he answered. "A new pirate crew is heading our way my Lady."

The figure on the couch rose slightly, allowing for some light to fall on their features. She had long dark hair, creamy skin, and red, well manicured nails. A small smile spread across her full ruby lips at the news.

"You've done well. Head back out and keep an eye on them, I'll begin preparations for our _guests_."

He gave a quick bow and flew back out the window, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

"I do hope this crew has more to offer me." She said as she plucked and object off the coffee table in front of her.

"The last crew didn't last nearly as long as I'd hoped. With any luck these pirates will be made of sterner stuff." As she held it higher the object she was speaking to was revealed to be a skull.

"If I'm lucky one might even be worthy of being my toy."

* * *

Later

Fierce was not happy and was seriously considering jumping off the sub and swimming to the island. She was currently pacing through the ships halls simply to try and occupy herself, to move. She'd tried talking to the Old Man, but she was too restless to really sit still and listen.

As she passed by nameless crew members they pressed themselves up against the walls to stay out of her way as they sensed her mood. The fact that she was growling softly didn't help.

She wound up back at her room. Inside she decided to go through her things and figure out just how many shelves and hooks she would need. Not to mention extra for any new treasures she might acquire over the course of her journey.

This calmed her and she found herself lost in the memories the items carried. Fingering one skin in her hand brought her back home. She could smell the forests, feel the dirt beneath her feet, and hear her brothers keeping pace beside her as they stalked their prey. How many days had it been since she'd last thought of home?

Soon she curled up among her treasures and slept peacefully with memories playing gently in her dreams.

. . . . . .

She didn't know why she woke up. It could have been because she fell asleep early the night before. It could have been due to her eagerness to land. Either way she was awake and wasn't going to be falling asleep any time soon.

She dressed herself and went to the bathroom to freshen up. The bathroom had been a pleasant surprise. The Old Man had talked about them, but it was another thing to experience firsthand. He'd shown her how to use the knobs to adjust the temperature and pressure.

She'd almost melted at the feeling of hot water pouring over her, and she'd mentally given humans another point in her good book. She would have stayed in their forever if some crew members hadn't come banging on the door telling not to use all the hot water. Jerks.

She then chose to spend her remaining time on deck to get some fresh air and to check their progress. She when arrived she saw that the sun hadn't risen yet, and the island didn't have a light house either. They'd have to wait for the sun to rise before they could make port she thought sourly.

_Swish. Swish. Swish._

She went on high alert at the strange yet not unfamiliar sound. As she concentrated on it she found it was coming from the smaller upper deck.

She made her way soundlessly to ladder that lead to it and climbed. She stopped shy of the top and peeked over the edge. She relaxed a bit when she saw it was only Law.

He was shirtless and working up a sweat swinging his sword around which was the source of the sound she'd heard. It was a bit hard to tell in the dark, though she had pretty night vision, but it appeared he was stronger than she'd given him credit for.

Without his hoodie to hide it she could see the sinewy muscles that lined his body. Really it shouldn't have surprised her. After all he had to be strong to swing that sword of his around.

"What are you doing?" She asked, making her presence known.

He paused mid swing before continuing and giving his answer.

"Training"

"Why?" She'd never had to train only survive.

"To get stronger, if I want to take the throne I can't remain as I am now." He said seeing no reason to lie.

"Throne? What throne?" An image of a golden high backed chair came to mind.

"Gold Rodger's throne, I'm going to find his treasure and become King of the Pirates." He stopped his exercises and looked her full in the face, daring her to laugh or ridicule him.

She did neither of these things, and stared at him from her place on railing where'd she'd made herself comfortable.

"Is he already dead?"

He looked at her funny but replied. "Yes"

"Alright," was all she said, if he was dead his stuff was up for grabs.

The name Gold Rodger meant nothing to her nor did his treasure, if Law wanted it he was welcome to them. She wouldn't say it aloud but she had little more respect for him, just a little.

He understood his limits and was doing everything he could to get stronger, she could admire that. She wasn't going to stop growling at him when got to close though.

. . . .

"Finally!" She shouted as she _leapt_ from the deck onto the docks.

"_Oh wonderful dry, solid earth I'll never take you granted again."_

The others followed at a much more sedated pace. Law quickly assigned tasks to groups, and they were to be completed before any of them could do as pleased. As it turned out she was paired with Cai and Nick to find shelving for her room.

Before they could get started however Stephen gave her another long lecture of dos and don'ts very similar to the one he'd given her the first time. She ignored most it.

The island was a quant place at its center was a dark misty mountain which was surrounded by forest and flowery meadows that you would expect to find on a Spring Island. What was odd were the people who inhabited the island.

Not in appearance but in the way they acted. They were all very skittish, and some seemed ready to flee. Others would cast pitying glances when their backs were turned. Something was wrong and most if not all members of the Heart Pirates were picking up on it.

"Something about this place stinks." Cai said offhandedly as they left a shop after placing Fierce's order.

They'd almost had to buy less then she asked for because of budget Law had set, but one look from her and the owner had been happy to give them a discount.

"They act like they want to hide, but for reason they won't. Something's coming." Fierce put in her two cents.

"Think we should tell the captain?" Nick enquired.

"Nah, he's probably already picked up on it. Let's regroup at the bar the Siren's Song was it?"

"Yeah that's the name." Nick confirmed.

While they were talking Fierce had stopped walking, and was casting suspicious looks about the street. She'd seen something from the corner of her eye. In another place she might have ignored it, but given the odd behavior of the town's citizens she couldn't afford not to be cautious.

She'd been hunted before when she was younger and had still been learning to hold her own. She knew what it felt like to be stalked from the shadows. It was she felt then and there. It wasn't a feeling she enjoyed, and if they thought she was prey they were in for a nasty surprise.

"Hey Fierce what's wrong?" Nick asked when he noticed she'd fallen behind.

"It's nothing, let's go." She wasn't about to say anything where their stalker might hear it.

She'd wait till they got to bar, she wasn't going to give up an advantage. As long as they didn't know that she knew they wouldn't change the game. That would make them more predictable.

"Alright"

When they arrived Fierce had to stop at the doorway to adjust to all the heavy smells inside the bar before she could join them at the group of tables they'd claimed, when she did she sat by Stephen.

"You're all here? Good." Law started once everyone was settled in.

"I assume you've all noticed something off about this place?" There was a general agreement from the rest of the crew.

"The question is why? And what are they up to?"

"They may not be up to anything." Everyone turned to look at Fierce.

"Explain," she scowled at the order from Law but answered anyway.

"They're trying to stay out of the way I think. They act like prey and not predators. They're just here where the real predator is hunting and can't do anything about it except keep their heads down and hope they don't get caught in the middle." She'd seen it all the time back home.

Law threaded his fingers as he thought over what she'd said. It was true the town's folk were rather skittish. If they were the ones trying to trap them they'd be friendlier to make them feel welcome and secure. But one thing bothered him if that was true.

"Then who's the predator?" He asked using Fierce's term.

Fierce just shrugged. "I don't know. We could ask the guy who's been following us."

"What! Someone was following us? Why didn't you say something?" Cai asked outraged.

"I didn't want him to know I knew." Fierce said simply.

"That's not a bad idea." The crew's attention was once again on Law.

He had a devious smirk on his face and had tightened his grip on his nodachi.

"Let's go ask him. Fierce, Bepo come with me." He ordered as he stood to leave.

Fierce growled, he was telling her what to do again.

"Fierce now isn't the time." Stephen put a firm hand on her shoulder.

While she didn't like it he was right. They could settle their score later.

Outside the bar Bepo and Fierce stood on either side of Law. Bepo seemed relaxed while Fierce was a bit tense. It had been a while since she'd had a chance to hunt. Even if she had to accompany Law she eager to get started. It was time for the hunter to become the hunted.

"Stay near me. We'll wait for him to make a mistake before we take him." With that he began to walk down the street.

Bepo and Fierce followed without a word. Fierce didn't like Law taking the lead, but since their prey was following behind them she'd have a better shot at getting to them first. She'd let it slide just this once.

It was difficult to ignore the impulse to turn her head every time she saw their stalker from the corner of her eye. She managed though. This wasn't a forest where she could easily pick up a trail if their stalker realized they were on to him and bolted. This was town full of people and foot traffic that might slow her down and hide his tracks.

However after about forty five minutes of aimlessly wandering around it became apparent that he wasn't going to make a mistake, at least not any time soon, he'd played this game too many times before to mess up. It was time for a new tactic.

As far as she could tell they had only one stalker so he could only follow one group. She decided to take a turn at the next street. With any luck Law would realize what she was doing. When she took her turn Law looked at her and said nothing, he just kept walking.

She went on high alert as she waited to see who he would follow after. A shadow darting across the street told her he found Law to be the higher priority, big mistake. She waited only about a minute before doubling back and following him.

She was lucky that he was so focused on Law. The town's folk were still wary of the Heart Pirates and moved out of her way as she came down the street. She had to use stalls, doorways, and alleys as cover.

Suddenly Law turned and their stalker hovered at the corner. She didn't waste the chance.

She crept up behind him then roughly grabbed his shoulder. He let out a startled noise and paled when he caught site of his captor. She swung him around the corner after Law, and slammed him into the wall growling harshly at him.

A quick cursory glance told her it was a wide alleyway, and Law was leaning causally against the wall watching with a pleased look on his face. It seemed he did know what she doing when she took that last turn.

Once her attention was back on her captive she took in his appearance. He had dirty blond hair that was parted in the middle and was styled into two spikes on either side of his head that pointed towards the sky. His nose was hooked and bit large for his face. He wore a yellow shirt with brown overalls.

"Hello mister we were hoping you could answer a few questions for us." Law told their nervous captive.

"Why are you following us?" Fierce asked getting straight to the point.

"Well you see my name is Finigus and-"

"-I don't care what your names is answer the question." She was outright snarling now.

Finigus winced if she tightened her hold on him anymore his bones would start cracking under the pressure. It didn't look like her captain was going to call her off either. He looked like he was enjoying his pain.

He gave a nervous smile and said, "I'm here on behalf of my employer Lady Belladonna Atropa. She humbly requests that you and your crew join her for dinner."

Fierce's grip loosened slightly as she stared at him in confusion. Her only response was –

"Huh?"


	14. Reasons Why

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or the canon parts of the story. All credit goes to Eiichiro Oda. I do one my OCs and the non-canon parts of the plot.**

**AN: I'm so sorry this took so long. I should have put it up at least a week ago but I'm back in school and had to adjust to my new schedule. I also changed my mind about a few things and had to rewrite a few parts, and I started a new story. I'm to try just typing a little bit every day to make the updates faster.**

**fangirl-4-evEr-xx****- Sorry this took so long I'm trying to be faster.**

**Girl-luvs-manga- Yeah Fierce doesn't mess around.**

**Asdfghjkl- Again I'm sorry this took so long.**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat-Here ya go the next one shouldn't take as long.**

**Ladeste- yeah I probably didn't need that bit but I wanted to give a preview of the villainess.**

**Shiningheart of ThunderClan- Yes Law is a sadist but we love that about him, as long as we aren't on the receiving end.**

**Chocolatluver4ever-Sorry I took so long, the next one will be longer.**

**robin3zoro- Yeah I guess she kinda is.**

Reasons Why

Fierce could only stare at the man before her dumbly, completely confused. On one claw she was pretty sure that following someone then asking them to dinner was not proper protocol. Then again humans where just plain weird about some things so maybe this was one of those things. Her gut said otherwise though and her gut was never wrong. Just to be certain.

"Hey Law is it customary for humans to stalk one another then invite them to dinner?" She called over her shoulder.

"No"

With that confirmation she retightened her grip on her captive making him wince.

"While that is true miss I didn't mean to stalk you, I'm a bit shy you see. Also I needed time to think about my presentation." Finigus desperately tried to convince her, him arm was going to give him some serious problems later at this rate.

"Presentation?" Okay humans were weird in general but this guy was taking the cake.

"Yes," he confirmed warming up to the lie.

"I wanted to be very convincing. You see my Lady is very fond of listening to tales of adventure, and who better to give those tales than pirates? So she makes a habit of inviting them to dinner and I didn't want to let her down."

"So she'll feed us for free if we tell her stories?"

"Yes"

"Will there be meat?"

"The finest."

"Lots of it?"

"As much as you can eat."

"Sounds good to me." In the back of her mind she was still mildly suspicious of this _Lady's_ intentions, but she was confident in her strength. If things went badly she could simply fight her way out.

Law, who she'd almost forgotten about, was deep in thought. This whole situation screamed _trap_, but someone holding the title Lady was bound to be rich especially if she made a habit of inviting entire crews over for dinner.

They could use more money since they hadn't had the chance to do so on the previous island. However if she did make a habit of this why hadn't she been robbed yet? Did she have well armed guards or drug her visitors? Or had her previous guests been weak?

Then there was the odd behavior of the islands inhabitants to consider. There were too many questions and not enough answers. Luckily he knew where to get them.

"When was she planning to hold this dinner party?" Law's voice brought Finigus and Fierce's attention back to him.

"Oh, um tomorrow evening at seven." Finigus hadn't expected him to be so easy to convince.

"We'll be there. Fierce, Bepo we're leaving."

"Hey," she said as she let Finigus drop to the ground.

"Quit telling me what to do." She followed him anyway; they were going to the same place after all.

Finigus soon found himself alone with his shoulder throbbing steadily in pain. They seemed to be a tough bunch, his Lady would be pleased. He rose to his feet and started to walk back to the manor. He would need to tell her about the captain and his attack dog. They would be the ones that they needed to watch. He also needed to make sure the kitchens were well stocked.

While Fierce was imagining what kinds of foods might be served at the dinner party Law was thinking hard about the possible traps their hostess might have waiting for them. It could anything from drugs or poison in the food and drink to good old fashion booby traps.

They'd need to careful. They'd have to avoid her traps without letting her know that they were on to her game. Then again she could expect them to know that she was plotting something. After all who invites pirates into their home for dinner?

Only a complete fool, but she'd done this before. The traps wouldn't be that obvious. She had an ace up her sleeve. She had to in order to be this confident. But what was it?

Regardless they were going to her little dinner party. She issued him a challenge and he wasn't about to turn it down. If this Lady thought she could trap them as easily as she'd trapped every other rookie that set foot on this rock she was in for a nasty surprise.

Besides he couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she saw Fierce's table manners or lack thereof. She was worse than Bepo.

Some of his inner musings must have shown on his face because Fierce asked him, "What's with that creepy smile?" while giving him an odd look.

"I'm just looking forward to tomorrow night's dinner is all." He replied without letting the smile fall from his face.

She gave him another odd look before facing forward again. Her attention diverted he returned to his thoughts.

They had a short time frame in which they could gather information about the island and its Lady before dinner tomorrow. They couldn't afford to waste any time as the town's people were likely to be reluctant to give up any information. They were very skittish, but it wasn't anything a little _persuasion_ couldn't fix.

They'd finally reached the bar and everyone was still inside, good.

"Well men it appears we've been invited to dinner." A general look of confusion from the crew met this statement as they returned to their tables.

"Dinner?"

"Yes by one Lady Belladonna Atropa. It's being held at her manor at 7pm tomorrow night."

"And we're going?" Asked another random crew member.

"Yes we are. It would have been rude to decline such an offer." Is what he said but the look on his face told a different story, he had a plan and they were eager to hear it.

"I want all of you to split up into groups and find out anything you can about this Lady, her manor, and her passed guests. We'll back at the sub at sundown to regroup."

"AYE AYE!"

"Hey captain, where's Fierce?" Cae asked.

Law's eyes widened and shot to his left where he had last seen her, and sure enough she wasn't there.

_She must have wondered off when I wasn't looking._ He thought while Stephen looked ready to have a panic attack, he was the tiniest bit concerned himself even if he didn't show it.

They all knew what happened the last time she'd been left to her own devises. A bar, two blocks, and a platoon of marines had all been demolished. Then again this island didn't have a marine base and had a much smaller population. She couldn't cause too much trouble here, right?

"If you see her while you're out tell her when to meet back at the sub, in fact stay with her and keep her from tearing this place apart." He ordered while pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes closed.

Fierce looked about the street she was on with a lazy eye. She had almost gone back to the bar with Law and Bepo but had chosen to go exploring instead when they were a few streets away. Besides going back right away would mean she was following Law's order to do so. She'd done more than enough of that for one day and only on the Old Man's behalf.

The buildings here were smaller, simpler than the ones on Calida Aura Island, but there were more trees here. It lacked the energy of Calida Aura but she didn't mind, in a way she preferred it. Here people didn't bump into her while she was walking; in fact they gave her a bit of a berth. That little tidbit she put down to the nervous behavior the town's folk exuded.

Now that the excitement of being invited to a dinner party had worn off her previous suspicions were coming back. First Law had confirmed that humans did not stalk each other before inviting them to dinner, secondly the town's people odd behavior. Thirdly her gut telling her something was up.

Back on Savage Island some predators would hide in fruit trees and wait for their prey to come and eat. They would wait until they were full and slow before attacking. Was this Lady utilizing a similar tactic? Or was she just being overly cautious of a new situation?

Then again they were pirates, she was by default, and pirates came with nasty reputations. She was no expert but she was pretty sure that it wasn't normal to welcome one into your home. She wouldn't, they were thieves and no one touched her things expect the Old Man when she was feeling generous.

"You stupid pirates should just leave while you can." Fierce stopped and turned to the source.

It was a boy who looked to be maybe eleven years old. His spiky blond hair was partially tamed by a blue bandana. His thick lips were fixed in an arrogant smirk.

She decides to ignore him, he's was merely a human juvenile not a threat to her in the slightest. She turned her back to him and kept walking.

"That's right run back to your captain; you and your crew are dead men walking anyway."

Fierce froze a vein pulsating on her brow.

_On second thought a lesson in respecting those above you never hurt anyone . . . much._

When she turned to him a second time he paled as he realized just how much trouble his mouth had gotten him into. Her was a mask of fury and her lips had drawn back to reveal the fangs hidden at the back of her mouth. The way she was looking at him filled a new kind of fear, one he'd never felt before. He felt like a rabbit staring down a wolf. There was only one thing to do, run.

The moment the thought entered his head he spun around and bolted. He only took about five before a hand latched onto the back of his shirt. The rest of his body continued forward before he was suddenly flung back. His collar dug into his throat before it was released and he rolled head over heels until he hit a wall.

His head was throbbing, and his legs were propped against the side of a building. As his vision cleared he saw the pirate staring down at him with a cold, bored expression. He'd thought she wasn't anything to worry about since she was a girl and didn't very strong. Sadly it looked like she was hiding her true strength under her odd coat. He was so dead.

"You know," he gulped as she started speaking, "I would think humans taught their young to respect the strong. Weaklings like you should know better and keep your heads down in hopes of going unnoticed."

Tears started to form in his eyes at her words, but not from fear not entirely.

"They didn't, and they won't get a chance to." He was going to die anyway so why not?

"Hmm? What are you talking about?" What was this kid getting at? She was just teaching him a lesson.

"They're dead and so are you if you don't leave." He was starting to tear up now.

Fierce relaxed her stance as she looked at him. He wasn't threatening her, he was warning her. What really struck her though was the part about his family. It was survival of the fittest she knew that. You were either strong enough to make or you weren't. Still she couldn't imagine what it would have been like without the Old Man, her father and brothers there to keep her out of trouble.

He was still young, too young to survive on his own. Someone must be taking care of him, but they weren't raising him or he would have known better than to provoke her.

"What happened to them?" Maybe it had something to do with why everyone was so jumpy here.

When he looked up at her he saw that her stance was no longer threatening and her eyes seemed to be softer.

"The Lady took them."


	15. Valentines are for Lovers

**AN: I decided to do a Valentines special, this is AU for the most part and doesn't have much to do with the story. It's just for fun and yeah it is a few days late. Enjoy and ladeste thanks for the help. b(^^)d**

Valentines are for Lovers

"_Another new island to explore,"_ Fierce thought as she stepped onto the dock.

She leisurely stretched as she looked around. The island looked to be a rather quaint place, wood and stone buildings lined the dirt roads, none were very big until they got closer to center of town where a tall clock tower stood.

"_Must be the rich district,"_ she'd gotten better at recognizing social statuses based on money, even if she still couldn't quite wrap her mind around it.

In her mind it was the strong who ruled, but she now understood that humans needed money to survive in their society. The rich used this resource to procure the strong to serve them and enforce their will, so in a way the strong still ruled if only indirectly. She preferred to rely on her strength rather than that of someone who could easily be bought by another. Some humans could be so inconsistent.

"_Or just hard to understand,"_ her mind whispered softly.

She frowned slightly as Law's face appeared in her mind. Half the time she didn't know what he was thinking or why he did something, she chalked some it up to her still not completely understanding humans, she never would, but she was starting to think that Law was more complicated than most humans.

"_I will never understand him."_ Strangely it didn't bother her all that much.

He was hers and she was his nothing else really mattered. Right?

"Are you ready Fierce?" The object of her inner musings appeared at her side.

She nodded and accepted his nodachi when he gave it to her to carry. He casually put his arm around her shoulders as they headed into town. As they strolled through the streets she noticed an over abundance of red, white and pink hearts everywhere. These where accompanied by winged babies sporting bows and heart shaped arrows. The sweet smell of sugar and chocolate hung heavily in the air.

Her mouth watered at the scent, everywhere she looked there was chocolate. She momentarily forgot her curiosity over the decorations in favor of her addiction. Stopping in front of one stand loaded with the brown treat she turned to Law hand held out with an expectant look.

Law sighed though his eyes where amused as he reach into his pocket for some Beli. She would do this all the time now so he knew what she wanted. He didn't mind too much but he wasn't her personal bank. He made a note to talk about this whole what's yours is mine what's mine is yours thing with her later.

Fierce's eyes lit up as she turned to look over the vender's selection and he decided it wasn't a conversation that needed to happen too soon. She didn't have terribly expensive tastes and used her own funds if she did want something a little pricier. He couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face at the vender's look of horror when Fierce viciously bit the head off the dark chocolate cherub she'd purchased. He really didn't mind loaning her a little money and again, especially if led to moments like these.

Later Back on the Ship

After Fierce put away her spare chocolate in her room she wandered down to the mess hall thinking back to all decorations she'd seen in town_. "Time to ask the crew and/or the Old Man about it."_

Luckily Penguin, Shachi, and the Old Man were all in the mess hall playing poker. They looked up and greeted her as she approached the table.

"Do you know what all the decorations are for?" She asked getting straight to the point.

They weren't offended by her lack of a greeting, used to her blunt behavior.

"It's Valentine's day tomorrow," Shachi said, turning his attention back to his hand.

"Valentine's Day?" They heard the question in her voice.

They stared each other down trying to choose who would be the one to explain it to her. Penguin lost.

"Err… It's a day for lovers and couples to show how much they love and care about each other." He explained feeling a bit awkward.

"Don't they do that anyway?"

"Well yeah, it's just a chance to be more…open about it is all." He wondered if this was how parents felt when they had to give the talk, on second thought he didn't want to think about what Fierce and the captain might be doing.

"Open?" That would explain why so many pairs had been hanging off each other with those weird expressions on their faces. That and trying to swallow the others tongue.

Stephen sensing an opportunity to push the new couple closer together gave his two cents.

"Exactly, it is a day when lovers go the extra mile to show what the other means to them. They do things that they normally wouldn't, something special, with meaning."

"_The extra mile huh?"_ Did Law mean enough to her to do that? She thought about everything they'd been through up to that point. Yes he did, she'd go and show him how she felt the only way she knew how to.

A determined look on her face she turned on her heel and marched out the door leaving the trio to stare after her with mixed feelings, Shachi and Penguin with apprehension and Stephen with a dreamy look.

"_Young love or as close to love as Fierce can get,_" Stephen thought as stared at the empty doorway with a sigh.

He was happy that Fierce had found someone even if it had to be that sadist Law.

"Uh aren't worried about what she'll do?" Penguin asked.

"Why should I be? She just going to show she cares is all." Stephen still had that dreamy look on his face as thought back to his own youthful romances.

"Well we all know Fierce has her own way of doing things. . ." Penguin started.

"How do they show affection on Savage Island?" Shachi cut in.

"Well in Fierce's case they. . .!"

"Fierce wait! Humans do it differently!" With surprising speed Stephen was on his feet and racing after her.

After he was gone Penguin and Shachi exchanged concerned looks wondering just what Fierce was going to do, their game was completely forgotten.

Unfortunately for Stephen he assumed Fierce had immediately left the ship when in fact she lingered to form a plan of attack.

She decided right away that she'd put her offering in the infirmary, which was basically his anyway, so that it wouldn't stain the rug in his room. For the second half she'd need a little help. She needed someone who had access to Law's personal quarters. Who knew what items in it were important to him, someone trust worthy, someone strong enough to help her carry her offering to Law. She needed…

"Bepo!" She shouted as she saw the bear coming around a corner.

"Yes?" The bear asked as he approached her.

"I need your help."

"With what?" He asked, it wasn't often Fierce asked for help with anything unless it was understanding humans and he wasn't too much help in that area.

"Showing my feelings to Law as is tradition on Valentine's Day." She said seriously.

"Doesn't he already know?"

"I don't know, he's hard to read sometimes."

"Okay" With that Fierce outlined her plan to him.

Bepo was a bit hesitant when he heard her plan but chose to go along with it. It wasn't like anyone was going to get hurt and she was just expressing herself.

When Law returned to his ship the next day after he was finished ordering some new parts for the sub he was greeted with an odd and disturbing sight. There was blood dotting the floor of the ships interior and it led to his infirmary where he was standing hesitantly in front the door.

He wasn't sure he wanted to know what was in there but he was never one to back down nor was he squeamish and it was _his infirmary._ Preparing himself for the worst he opened the door and his eyes grew wide at the sight that greeted him.

There was a pile of large animal carcasses lying on the once clean now bloody floor. He stood there for a while staring at it disbelieving. There was no question in his mind that Fierce was one responsible for this mess he just couldn't think of why she would do it.

She'd been gone almost all day the day before. He couldn't think of anything he'd done that would make her mad enough do this and it wasn't even her style. If she was angry with you she let you know it then and there. So again the question was why?

Deciding it would be best to ask the woman in question directly. He began searching the ship for her and was shocked to see her coming down the hallway that led to his room with an armful of familiar looking items.

"_She wouldn't,"_ he rushed to his room to find the door wide open.

"_She did,"_ she'd taken several items from his room and replaced them with bones, skins, and a weird gold statue with ruby eyes that seem to be watching him.

The items that really caught his attention were the ones that she'd left on his bed. One was a scrap of familiar purple scales and the other was a gold snake necklace that he knew she adored. He was beyond confused by this point. She'd left bloody animal carcasses in his infirmary, taken some of his stuff and to top it all off given him some of her things. She took her things out of her room, she never did that.

"_What is she trying to do?"_ With that question in mind he set off for Fierce's room.

Just as he predicted she was in her room sitting on her cot. His things were spread out before her and she was flipping through one of his books.

"There are dead animals in my infirmary." He said as he fearlessly crossed the thresh hold.

"I know," she said cheerfully.

"Why?" That was all he really wanted to know.

"It's Valentine's Day," she said as if it explained everything.

"What does that have to with dead animals and you pillaging my room?"

"Old Man said that today was the day when pairs show each how they feel." He wasn't sure what to say to that.

"Don't make me repeat myself."

Fierce huffed at him in annoyance; humans couldn't understand the most basic things.

"The animals are an offering. I'm letting you know I consider you close enough to me to share my kills with you. I gave you some my things to show you I trust you. I took your things as a trade."

Law didn't know whether to bang his head against a wall or laugh. Only Fierce would give someone a bloody Valentine.

"Fierce that really wasn't necessary." He said slowly, he didn't want to insult her and have her go berserk while they were on the ship.

"I wanted you to know how I feel." She said with a frown.

"I understand that but humans don't give each other dead bodies, they usually exchange chocolate." She cheered up a bit that.

"Wait I thought you said you didn't like chocolate." She said with narrowed eyes.

"I don't like milk chocolate I prefer dark." He said with a smirk as he lightly tilted her head up.

"You can keep that book if you clear out the bodies and your stuff."

"No you have to keep something if I keep something." She said as she pulled her head free.

"The scales . . . I'll keep the scales." He said after a moment of thought.

With smile she set off to complete her task leaving Law alone with his thoughts. Later that evening Law was sitting in room holding the scrap in his hand gently running his thumb over the smooth scales, their presence alone brought Fierce to mind. How could they not? The purple scales were her signature in a way.

On the desk before him sat the very scale that he'd plucked from her shoulder when they'd first met. Scales, it always came back to that with her. Maybe tomorrow he'd take her back out to town. Perhaps he could bribe with chocolate to get her to keep her special displays of affection limited to leaving a few things in his room. It would prevent a lot of unnecessary stress in the future.


	16. Answers?

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the One Piece characters or the canon parts of the story. All credit goes to Eiichiro Oda. I do one my OCs and the non-canon parts of the plot.**

**AN: I am very sorry this took so long, being a college student sucks.**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat- He is 12 years old.**

**Shiningheart of ThunderClan-**** There are two kinds of cherubs, the biblical kind and the kind you around Valentine's Day. They are the winged babies with bows and arrows.**

**Ladeste- Good eye.**

**Lily Noir- Thanks a bunch I really wanted to make Fierce something special and I'm glad you like her.**

Answers?

"The Lady, who's she?" Fierce asked as she stood over the boy.

"She controls the island. She's been here for as long as I can remember." He said sitting up once he realized she wasn't going to hit him again.

Fierce merely stared at him, wanting him to continue but not feeling like repeating herself.

"Normally it's just pirates who she brings up to her manor, but if no crews come for while she calls up villagers. She sends her men to round people up. If they try to fight back . . . there's just no point. They're too strong." He started crying again.

"You're just too weak." She said bluntly.

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" He threw himself at her, completely forgetting that she more than capable of beating him.

She held out a hand and caught him by the forehead. She then gently, by her standards, pushed him back to the ground. He stared up at her dazed and a little fearful.

"See, you're weak. That is why you are being preyed upon. You can't fight back and she knows it." It was a simple fact.

This Lady had all these people too scared to even try and fight back. This made it easy for her to pick them off at her leisure. They were cowed and had lost all their will to fight, they weren't even trying to hide.

"It's not that simple! She has some kind of Devil Fruit power." Well maybe not all the fighting spirit had gone away.

This boy still had some; he had a reason to fight back. Pity his body didn't reflect it.

"Devil Fruit huh," she certainly remembered the name. It was what gave Law his powers.

While this would certainly make her a more troublesome opponent it didn't make her unstoppable. She was certain that if her fight with Law had gone uninterrupted she would have emerged the victor. Though she wouldn't have gotten her arm back if that had happened.

"And then there's what she does to the people who she takes." He voice was filled with fear as he spoke, he couldn't seem to stop himself though now that he'd begun his tale.

"What does she do?" What would a human do with other humans?

"We're not sure but the woods, they're full of bones. And . . . and th- the newer bodies look like dried out mummies." He was shaking now as the image of the bodies swam before his eyes and knowing that his parents had met the same fate.

"Bones," now she was really confused.

To her knowledge humans didn't eat other humans, cannibalism was frowned upon. That and while she wasn't sure what a mummy was she took it that those still had some flesh on them so this Lady probably wasn't eating them. So why take them at all? And what was she doing to them make them like that? Could it have something to do with her Devil Fruit?

Something was off about the whole thing, but one thing was for sure. The Lady had them all too scared to act. The sight of their dead was a large contributing factor, but it couldn't be the only reason she was doing it. It didn't make any sense to kill them without gaining something from it (Fierce has no concept of killing for pleasure or causing pain just because. She kills because she wants something or is hungry.). Fierce frowned as she tried to wrap her mind around it before shaking her head.

"Oh yeah what's your name?" The thought just occurring to her.

"A-Akio, it means glorious hero." He said sniffling.

"It doesn't suit you." She told him bluntly.

"Hey! My father gave me that name!" He shouted at her offended.

"Doesn't matter, you aren't living up to it at all. He's gone now; shouldn't you honor what he left you?" She knew she would have if anything had happened to her father. On her island you were given a name that described you in some way, humans didn't seem to know how to name their offspring.

He blinked at her having never thought of it that way. It was one of the few things that remained of his parents besides their memory.

"How am I supposed to do that? Not all of us are freakishly strong like you are." He stared up at the strange powerful being before him hoping for an answer.

"I don't know anything about being a hero," she said with a shrug.

"But," she continued as he looked disheartened.

"I didn't start out like this you know and I'm still not all that strong compared to my brothers, I've beaten one of them in a fight let alone my Father. There will always be someone stronger than you are someone farther up the food chain, but that doesn't mean you can't be strong and no weakling can be glorious."

"I'll do that I'll get, just you wait big sis." He said, grinning through his tears feeling oddly inspired.

"Hmfp, we'll see fledgling." The child had earned a bit of her respect, he was actually trying to put a claim on her, how cute.

"Fierce there you are! Geez don't wonder off like that Stephen's throwing a fit, I think you almost gave him a heart attack." When Fierce turned to the source she saw Nick and Cae, the two always seemed to be near one another the way Penguin and Shachi were.

"Fine, fine, where is he?" Not really caring about the trouble she may have caused.

"He's back at the sub. We're all supposed to meet back there to regroup." Cae explained.

"I'll go see him then." With that she started walking off, she wanted to talk to him about what she'd learned and didn't understand.

"He-hey wait up!" Nick shouted as the duo followed after her, hell if they were going to let her out of their sight.

**99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 999999999999999999999999999999999**

Law was not happy. Their search had been fruitless. Every time they attempted to question the town's people they turned tail and hid. Eventually they seemed to disappear entirely. They gave up and retreated to the sub to plan.

What little he had gathered was that everyone feared the Lady. He had hoped that this fear would make them eager to talk. If anything they were afraid to even say her name. He gave a frustrated sigh and sunk lower into his seat lazily watching Stephen pace back and forth worriedly.

Not a moment later he heard a fuss down the hall. Fierce had returned with what sounded like Nick and Cae.

"Honestly Fierce why'd we have to take the long way back?"

"We're back aren't we? Quit complaining." (She traced her steps back instead of following them straight to the dock, it's how she kept from getting lost in the woods.)

"Just give it up there's no reasoning with her."

"Hey Old Man, you in here?" She called out as she slammed the door open.

"Fierce! Thank goodness, you didn't get into any fights did you? What have I told you about wandering off?" Stephen spat out in a rush, relieved she was back.

"No I didn't get into any fights," her brief confrontation with the fledgling could hardly be called a proper fight.

"And I didn't wander off, I went exploring." She said as if it made all the difference in the world and to her it did.

"Alright, can you just tell someone next time you decide to go exploring?" He asked resignedly, there was no real point in trying to stop her.

She merely shrugged, not a yes but not a no. He knew better than to hope for more.

"Yes Miss Fierce you caused Mr. Stephen some grief when you disappeared. I thought you might have gotten lost on the way back." She'd inconvenienced him as well.

"I didn't get lost, I never get lost." She growled.

"On to more important matters," she said imperiously.

"Old Man why would a human take other humans?"

"What do you mean?" Stephen couldn't fathom why she would ask that, she didn't know about slavery and she knew sometimes humans were imprisoned for their crimes. She'd snorted at that and asked why they weren't just killed by the ones they'd offended in the first place, that had been a long tedious conversation.

"The fledgling said that the Lady takes people up to manor when pirates don't come to the island for a long time and they don't come back when she does."

"Is that so," perhaps her disappearance hadn't been the inconvenience he'd thought it was.

She gave Law an annoyed glance before turning back to Stephen, this conversation was between the two of them and did not include Law.

"Fledgling?"

"Some kid I met in town, he hasn't grown into his name so I'm calling him that for now." Only Fierce would do that.

"I'm not quite sure, were they criminals?"

"I don't think so and she's not keeping them. They find them buried in the woods with little more than skin and bone left. The fledgling said she has a Devil Fruit ability. Do you any that would do that?"

_So she does was a Devil Fruit user._ Law thought. He was annoyed that Fierce was ignoring him but he was content to listen to her conversation with Stephen.

"I'm afraid I don't have an answer to either of those questions Fierce." She was a bit disappointed while Law was pleased.

She'd unknowingly carried out his will and somehow had gotten one the town's people to talk to her. She was proving to be an asset after all. She may have been a hard to use wild card but he wasn't going to look the gift horse in the mouth as long as the good outweighed the bad.

He smirked, things were getting interesting.

"Shachi, Penguin, Bepo, and Miss Fierce we're heading out to the woods. I want to take a look at those bodies."

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 999999999999999999999999999999999

At the Manor

Lady Belladonna Atropa was in her room in a creamy white dressing gown as transparent as sin, when she moved it show glimpses of her smooth flesh through the thin material. She was seated on comfy stool before a large ornate mirror having her long lush hair brushed and painstakingly curled by two trembling women dressed as servants. They knew there would be hell to pay if they made the slightest mistake or caused her any discomfort.

She waved them away when she saw Finigus fly in through window.

"Did you deliver my message?"

"Yes my Lady, they will be here as you requested. I think you'll be pleased with this bunch."

"Oh, are they strong?" She asked as she raised a perfect brow to him.

"The ones I met with seem to be, one of the attacked me and almost broke my shoulder with her grip alone. I assume the captain must be even stronger to command such a force."

"Hmmm, that does sound promising. Did you meet the captain?"

"Yes he was with the woman, he seemed very confident and he commands loyalty, he didn't even have to give a verbal order to get her to do his bidding." (If only he knew.)

"Was he handsome?"

"Yes, I do believe he suits your tastes my Lady." He said with a smirk, payback time.

"Wonderful I've been in need of a new toy. There just aren't any good ones on this island." She said with a smile that to most would have looked gentle, Finigus wasn't fooled.

"What was his name again?" She enquired as she turned back to her mirror.

"Trafalgar Law, The Surgeon of Death, he is captain of the Heart Pirates."

"Very good, Finigus see to the dinner preparations and the after dinner _entertainment_."

"With pleasure my Lady." With a bow he left her rooms and headed to the kitchens.

As her servants went back to fixing her hair a smile remained on her face. She could hardly wait to see the looks on their faces when they realized that their strength meant nothing, in fact the stronger the better. She was looking forward to playing with them. Hopefully it wouldn't be over before she'd had her fun.

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 999999999999999999999999999999999

With Law and His Expedition

They just reached the woods near the manor though they couldn't see it from where they were. Law had prepared a kit to perform a few field autopsies to try and figure out Lady Atropa's power. He was also prepared to bring a body back to the ship if necessary.

Bepo was carrying his sword, Penguin had the kit, Shachi had a collapsible stretcher and a body bag. Fierce was wandering around on her own but every once in a while he'd catch a glimpse of her through the trees. She was keeping close by. This was likely due to the fact that Stephen had volunteered to accompany them.

He hadn't seen any graves yet, they may have been too old to show and he wanted a fresh one that hadn't had a chance to decompose too much. If he was lucky there would be some farther from the manor grounds.

Fierce was bored, she didn't see what the Old Man's problem was with digging up a carcass was and she didn't want to leave him alone in case something happened so she couldn't go off on her own.

She was hungry too, she hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was already mid afternoon. Maybe she'd find something but they were making so much noise it was scaring off all the good prey!

Then she heard a noise and swung her head in its direction. She went perfectly still and listened. . . .!

There it was again, it was the sound of a small animal moving through the underbrush, she'd know that sound anywhere. Dipping into a low crouch she crept towards the source. With practiced ease her bare feet moved soundlessly over the ground. Suddenly a creature she identified as a rabbit darted out of bush at full speed. With a growl she charged after it.

Law and the others started when they heard a growl but Stephen put them at ease when he told them it was Fierce. They changed directions to follow her fearing that she'd been discovered by one of the Lady's guards or had found something.

What they found was Fierce sitting on the ground gutting and skinning a rabbit with a knife. Law sighed in frustration. They hadn't seen any evidence of graves new or old and he was starting to think that the boy Fierce had spoken with had led them on a wild goose chase.

Shachi and Penguin both winced in disgust and Fierce began to greedily tear into her prey with teeth while it was still raw. When Penguin turned away from the sight he saw a small mound under a tree, it was human sized.

"Captain!" He shouted while running over to it to investigate.

Law turned to him and smiled when he saw what the fuss was about. Looks like the boy hadn't been lying after all.

The dirt was still fresh looking and loose, it couldn't have been more than a day old.

Shachi and Penguin immediately began to dig up whatever was hidden inside. It wasn't long before an arm in a black sleeve was revealed, his smile grew wider.

"Is it really okay for us to do this?" Stephen asked disturbed at the thought of digging up someone's grave.

"It's not as if they're going to protest and we need to find out anything we can about this Lady."

"Captain we're done." Law turned his attention back to the body.

It was female judging by how it was dressed but he hardly noticed. Stunned at the state the body was in. It was shriveled up and little more than skin stretched over bone.

"So that's what a mummy looks like." Fierce had finished her snack and had come over to inspect the body herself.

"Indeed," Law murmured his eyes still on the corpse as he kneeled before it.

Slipping on a pair of gloves and opening up his kit he got to work.

The body was definitely female and she hadn't been very old as her hair was still dark. There was a series of small puncture wounds and shallow cuts on her body, mainly on the arms and thorax. He couldn't tell if anything had been injected but he was willing to bet that something had been removed to cause this.

"We'll have to take her back with us; I don't have the proper tools for this here." He decided.

Standing up and peeling off his gloves he watched his men gently place her in the bag.

"Miss Fierce carry her and be gentle."

"Why should I? This was your idea." She threw back.

"Consider this your punishment for going off on your own earlier." Fierce just growled at him.

"Fierce we'll get back to the ship faster if you do and I'm sure there'll be some dinner waiting." Stephen quickly intervened, knowing that one small rabbit wouldn't be enough to satisfy her hunger.

Fierce paused to consider his words before heaving the body bag over her shoulder. She then began to retrace their path and snarling at Law again as she passed him.


	17. Table Manners

**AN: I'm so sorry this took so long but I had exams. This chapter is not as long as I would have liked but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Hitoshirezu Ryu – No problem I do the same thing sometimes but thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you like Fierce.**

**Hitoshirezu Ryu –Food is strong motivator for animals and Fierce is kinda like an animal, doesn't always work on her though.**

**Namikaze Hatake- I'm glad you think so and I'm looking forward to writing about Fierce;s interactions with the Straw Hats myself. Thanks for the heads up, I've been meaning to go back and edit so of my older chapters.**

**Sweetness, Shiningheart of ThunderClan, Miss Doflamingo, ladeste, Girl-luvs-manga,** **Chocolatluver4ever- Thanks for reviewing and for your continued support, the next chapter will be longer I promise. **

Table Manners . . .

The trip back was uneventful, each person occupied with their own thoughts. All, even Fierce, were thinking about the state the body was in. Shachi, Penguin, and Stephen were disgusted, Bepo was slightly curious, Law was fascinated, and Fierce was unsure.

When she looked at the body she was struck with the feeling that something was wrong. It wasn't a natural death and it bothered her on some level. However, the human hadn't been strong enough to defend herself and so she had died. It was just the way the world worked. Still the slight weight of the corpse on her shoulder served as a reminder and chafed at her.

They took the long way to avoid causing an uproar in town at the site of the body bag. The sun was beginning to set when they arrived back at the submarine. Law signaled Fierce to follow him, and for once she did as she was bid without snarling or outright insubordination. It may have been due to the fact that he just waved her along with his hand instead of giving a verbal order or Fierce simply wanted to rid herself of the body.

Law led her down to the operating room which at times doubled as his personal lab.

"Just lay it down on the table_, gently_." Law said distractedly pointing to one of the steel tables while pulling out various knives, scissors, and tweezers.

Fierce said nothing and gladly relieved herself of her burden before making herself scarce. This was his thing, in his space and she didn't need to be there. Besides she was hungry and the Old Man owed her dinner for carrying that thing without a fuss.

The Mess Hall

Fierce opened the door with more force than was strictly necessary, announcing her presence and alerting the cook that he'd better get a tray together for her. He didn't mind the newest addition to their crew in fact he rather liked her.

While she ate a lot, sometimes three to four times as much as the men, she was one of few who would regularly compliment his cooking. He enjoyed the praise and the fact that she was genuine about it. If she didn't like something she let him know, the same was true for things she did enjoy.

When he realized that she had a sweet tooth he started to make dessert more often and set one two extra aside just for her.

"Here yah go Fierce, we're having rump roast tonight with salad and potatoes. I made sure to cook yours rare." He said as he handed her the loaded tray.

"Thank you sir, it smells great!" She said with a fanged smile, she loved it when he made it rare.

"Fierce over here," Stephen said as he waved to her from the table he shared with Shachi, Penguin, Cae, and Nick.

As she walked away the cook couldn't help but wonder why some of the crew were afraid of her. She was such a sweet girl if a bit odd.

Fierce set her tray down but before she could dig in Stephen interrupted her.

"Fierce I know that I've never really made an issue of this before, there was no real reason to back on the island, but we're going to formal dinner tomorrow evening." Fierce waited impatiently for him to get to the point.

"Now it is going to be held inside the home of a potential enemy, but I think it is high time you learn some table manners." He finished waiting for her reaction.

Fierce just gave him a blank look. She couldn't fathom why he was bringing this up now. She didn't even need table manners; there was nothing wrong with way she ate.

"Don't give me that look Fierce, we are going into someone else's home, and until they attack us we are guests and you need to be on your best behavior." Stephen easily read her mind and the others look on in interest.

"You're always saying stuff like that. I know how to behave myself in someone else's territory." She retaliated.

"It's different with humans Fierce. It's expected of you to know how to eat using utensils not your hands."

"What's the difference? Either way I'm putting food in my mouth."

"It's less messy and polite to use a fork!" He said stabbing a piece of meat with his own to get his point across.

The less mess bit actually caught Fierce's attention, it was a bit of a bother to have to clean her hands after every meal, and she gave her own fork a second glance. When she picked it up Stephen felt a surge of hope. It quickly died when she stabbed her still whole roast with it. She lifted it to her mouth and tore a piece off, but the action pulled the tender roast off the fork as well.

It fell back onto the plate with a splat. She stared at it, swallowed her food, and stared again. Finally she threw her fork over her shoulder and ate like she usually did.

Stephen sighed while the rest just laughed at the display. This was going to take a while.

Operating Room

Law was getting frustrated. His autopsy hadn't shed much light on Lady Belladonna's abilities. He had found signs of strangulation and bruising around on the neck, wrists and legs in addition to the stab wounds.

This could mean several things, one the victim needed to be restrained for her power to work. Two, her power let her restrain them while she worked on them. Or three, she did it just so she wouldn't have to deal with their struggling.

Most of the victim's body fluids were still present as well so she wasn't bleeding them dry. So what had she taken? What had she done to this woman? He pondered as stared unseeing at the nameless woman on his operating table.

He had taken a few blood samples and planned to run some tests, but he didn't expect much in the way of results. He'd never seen anything like this before and while he welcomed the challenge he was still aggravated with his inability to solve the puzzle.

There was something he was missing, or perhaps the Lady's Devil Fruit left no evidence besides the obvious. He didn't particularly like that idea. It meant that even after all their efforts they were still going in blind. His frown deepened at the thought.

With a sigh he went back over what little he had learned and what he could assume worst case scenario. It was safest to assume that she could in fact restrain her victims or had her guards do it for her. Once they were bound she used her power on them and when that happened it was game over. They needed to be cautious and ready to attack at the first sign of trouble.

_No, we need to get her before she gets us._ He thought.

If they could be the first to strike they would have the advantage. She had invited them into her trap without really trying to hide the fact that it was a trap. She expected everything to go according to plan. If they fought back before the trap could be sprung it would throw a wrench in her plans and keep her off balance.

_We'll have to make a signal and watch for signs of trouble, but this could work._ His smirk was back and he began to relax as a plan began to form.

The Manor

Finigus stood back watching the dinner preparations feeling quite pleased. The menu had been decided on, several guards had taken a list of groceries to the village, the dining table and silverware were being polished, and his shoulder was starting to feel better. All in all things were running like clockwork.

The sound of heavy footsteps alerted him to the arrival of his fellow bodyguard and mechanical genius Alberto.

"How are things looking _under the hood_?" He asked as he turned to him.

"Oiled and ready, I had to replace a few springs but nothing major." Alberto replied as he pushed his goggles up out of his eyes.

Alberto was a tall man with stringy black hair that hung in his eyes when he didn't have his goggles to push it back. He could almost be called muscular and had rather pale skin which almost made him seem sickly. He often had a dourer look on his face. He along with Finigus had served Lady Belladonna Atropa the longest.

"Good, good, Lady Belladonna will be most pleased to hear this. Everything is coming along splendidly. We shouldn't have any problems with our guests." Finigus told him as he turned back to the preparations.

At his words the grim man let a small smile form on his lips.

"Yes, she will be." It wouldn't be much longer now.

This seemed to be the only thing that made his Lady truly happy and smile for real.

Mess Hall

After arguing with her for about an hour Stephen had convinced her to at least use a spoon. Fierce was willing to admit that a spoon was useful for eating things like soup and pudding. Nothing however could convince her to use a knife or fork, which she considered useless.

Everyone had finished eating and were lounging around for the most part. At Fierce's table the foursome, Shachi, Penguin, Cae, and Nick, had banded together and were designing floor plans for Fierce's room.

Fierce was listening attentively to their suggestions on how the shelving should been set up. She knew that she would have to let them do it. It bothered her, a lot, but she had no idea how to install them herself. Though listening to them argue about why their plan was better than the others, she decided that maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they were the ones to do it, while she was in the room to keep an eye on them of course.

Just then Law entered the room with Bepo trailing behind him. Once he was sure that he had everyone's attention he spoke.

"I have a plan but you are going to have to be on guard." Seeing the serious looks on his crew's faces he outlined his plan to them.

They could win this, no matter what Lady Belladonna's power might be, it was no match for the Heart Pirates.


	18. Are Not Required

**AN: I'm sorry this took so long but summer calculus is no joke. On the bright side it's finally over and I have the rest of my summer. As promised this is longer than the last and I hope you all enjoy it. **

**Also what do you think of my writing style? Is it too wordy? Or is it fine the way it is? Constructive criticism is welcomed.**

**I've decided to make another one shot series also staring Fierce but this one will be about her childhood and all the trouble she got into growing up. = 3**

**Review Responses.**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat- Yes, yes he is, but does he have reason to be?**

**Potentialism- Always happy to hear that, I out a lot of time into her to get her personality down.**

**Molly Grace 16- I'm glad you think so and I plan to have a of fun with Law and Fierce.**

**Shiningheart of ThunderClan- Yeah table manners are pretty much an option for her. Her hands are all she needs as far as she's concerned.**

**Hitoshirezu Ryu- Yeah but Stephen's had nineteen years to learn to be patient with her and really it's not like he can make her do anything. As for Law's plan you'll just have to see how it turns out.**

**Ladeste- It's very likely that the fork did hit someone but Fierce just doesn't care. So glad my summer class is over and my updates can get more regular again.**

**Miss Doflamingo- I laughed a bit myself when I wrote that part. ; )**

**Girl-luvs-manga- GO Team Law!**

. . . Are Not Required

Law had all his men gathered on deck and was reviewing the plan for the last time. It was simple, but the lack of detail would allow for improvising if things did not go according to plan. Law would sit near Lady Belladonna, but far enough away that he would have time to activate his Room before she could reach him. His best fighters would situate themselves by any guards so that they could take them on two to one.

He hadn't been sure where to place Fierce so he had her at the end of the table where she wouldn't get in the way of anyone but guards, hopefully. He toyed with the idea of bringing Stephen to control Fierce, but decided against it. If it all went to Hell in a hand basket he wouldn't be much help in a fight. Instead he would remain behind with a skeletal crew and a Den Den Mushi.

As they made their way through the streets he could feel eyes on them, peeking through window shutters and around corners. They were fearful, pitying glances from the town's folk. They'd all made themselves scarce, the streets were completely empty.

They all remained silent as they trudged up the dirt path to the manor. The sun was beginning to set and cast long shadows on the road. When they finally reached their destination they were momentarily stunned by the sight. Manor did not seem to be the right word to describe the structure before them.

It was box like and large, with a few towers branching off of it, but the main body of the building was marked with walls, columns, and squares jutting out of it or sunk into it. The building almost seemed to be made of panels and rooms stuck together. It also had a single dome at its heart.

"That's something you don't see every day," Cai muttered.

"I wonder who the architect is." A random crew said.

"I wonder if the inside is as messed up as the outside," pondered another.

"We'll find out if we go inside." Law cut in to remind them of why they were there in the first place.

Fierce was off the side with Bepo while they were talking and simply stared at the building blankly. It looked nothing like the houses she'd seen before but she supposed that that was what made it a manor not a house.

They came up to the gothic style double doors that marked the entrance. There was rope to ring the door bell. Not a moment after Law pulled it the doors opened inward and Finigus stood in the atrium with his arms spread wide.

"Welcome to home of the lovely Lady Belladonna Atropa." He paused to give them a minute to take in the décor, knowing it was a bit overwhelming to anyone not used to it.

The inside was less chaotic than the outside. In fact it was fairly normal for an extremely upscale mansion with plenty of stone work. Here and there was a misplaced wall or an oddly shaped hallway and what looked to be seams, but nothing like the exterior.

"This way please, my Lady wishes to meet you at the grand stair and lead you to the dining room herself." Finigus led them through a hallway which opened up to the front room of the manor where a grand stair case laid.

There was no Lady waiting for them however. The longer they stood there the more uneasy they became. Law tightened his hand around his sword and wondered if the trap was getting ready to be sprung already.

Then a sultry voice cut through the tension.

"I'm terribly sorry to have kept you waiting, but I had trouble deciding what to wear." All eyes were on the stairs as the Lady made her entrance.

She was of average height for a woman with long, wavy chocolate colored hair. Her eyes were two spots of almond shaped ground cinnamon and her lips a rich red. Her curvy figure was sheathed into a low cut off white gown that had gold threading and pearls as accents. All in all she was absolutely breath taking.

Law was eyeing her cautiously while his men were drooling over the vision of beauty before them. Fierce just wished that their hostess would hurry up so that they could eat already.

She had a small smile on her lips, which did not reach her eyes, as she descended. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she stopped to appraise her guest with her own eyes.

"So you are the infamous Heart Pirates, I'm so glad to finally meet you in person." She said as her eyes lingered on Law

"Likewise, I've been eager to meet you. I tried to learn a bit about you but everyone was rather reluctant to speak of you for some reason." He threw back with his typical smirk.

"Hmmm, I wonder why, but let's continue this in the dining room shall we?" She turned to lead the way, but Law moved to grip the hilt of his nodachi.

"Now, now, there's no need for that." She said without turning around while everyone else tensed up.

"I think there is, I've never been one to follow the orders of others or to let myself be led blindly into an obvious trap." He wasn't smiling any longer.

Alarm bells were ringing in his crew's heads; this was not part of the plan. Fierce was ready to spring at the smallest hint of violence as tensions rose.

It was so quiet that all the men could hear was the sound of their own pounding hearts. Suddenly Lady Belladonna started laughing.

"Hahahaha ah-ahhahaha, oh you are a sharp one. But there really isn't any need to worry just yet. You see I've been at this game so long that it gets boring when I start right away. I want this last as long as it can and I really do want to hear stories of your adventures, I don't have many of my own since I never leave this island."

Law still looked skeptical so she added.

"I prefer to wait until after dinner so you'll be at full strength, so long as you don't over eat. It's not poisoned if that's what's worrying you. If you don't believe me have the servants taste your food first but really you're no use to me dead." She explained with a peculiar gleam in her eyes.

Law slowly released his hold on his sword and waited for her to lead the way. The dining room was a grand thing with a red and gold theme. Marble pillars supported the high ceiling and a dark wood table held piles of rich food.

"Please make yourselves comfortable," Lady Belladonna said while gesturing to the table.

The Heart Pirates took their seats but remained reluctant to eat. Despite Lady Belladonna's assurance that the food wasn't poisoned her talk of games had left them uneasy and on high alert. Fierce had no such problems.

It was pure instinct for her to eat as much as she could whenever she could as one could never be sure when exactly their next meal would be. While the others half heartedly filed their plates and played with their food she carefully scanned the table before zeroing in on a whole roasted pig resting atop a vegetable medley. She licked her lips.

Lady Belladonna was sitting at the head of the table observing her nervous guests with amusement while Finigus stood just behind her in case she needed him. When she saw the only female in the group stand and begin to walk towards her. She frowned slightly while Finigus tensed. He hadn't forgotten his last encounter with her.

She gained the attention of her crewmates as well, most watched her nervously and Law eyed her disapprovingly. All wondered what the Hell she was up to. The plan had already gone off course once because Law hadn't been able to resist confronting his opponent.

She stopped at the halfway mark however and reached for her chosen dish to the relief of many. Lady Belladonna's eyes widened slightly when Fierce lifted the entire platter off the table and carried it back to her seat with no apparent effort. It was not a small animal be any means.

It seemed Finigus had not been exaggerating about her strength. This pleased her greatly and she couldn't stop her tongue from lightly licking her lips in anticipation. Her expression soon changed to confusion to disgust to outright horror.

Fierce had set her meal down and retaken her seat. She gripped the head and rump of the pig to keep it still before tearing a piece of meat out of its flank with her teeth. She chewed it slowly to taste it and was savored the salty crunch of the skin and the sweet tender meat beneath it.

Without further delay she tore into it with same the gusto she approached every meal with.

Lady Belladonna felt slightly nauseous from her front row seat. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, had that girl been raised by WOLVES? She wasn't even really chewing her food and was that a BONE she just ATE!? Grease and meat juice were running down her chin unchecked and flecks of food dotted her cheeks.

She quickly raised her napkin to wipe her lip and to hide her expression while she regained control of herself. She then looked over her guest to find a suitable distraction from the revolting display in front of her.

Most of them were either talking among themselves or watching the girl in amused exasperation. Then her eyes settled on their captain who was looking directly at her with a smirk on his face.

She knew immediately that he'd seen her break in composure. The satisfied gleam in his eyes told her he'd planned this.

_That bastard, _she thought then she returned his smile.

She had brought them in partially because she wanted to play. She had a feeling that he'd make a good opponent.

"So tell me how and where did you find such an . . . interesting companion?"

"It was a rather unforgettable experience." He replied smoothly.

_And the games begin,_ she thought. He was already proving to be more entertaining than most of her other guests.

"Really tell me more. I do enjoy tales of adventure and who better to tell one than a pirate?"

"I know I mentioned this earlier but I'll say it again. I don't take orders from anyone." He was challenging her as she had challenged him.

"Don't think of it as an order," she continued sweetly leaning slightly in his direction.

"Rather think of it as a request from your gracious hostess or if that still bothers you think of it as a way to repay me for my generosity." And so they were back to the pretense that this was a simple dinner party.

_Hmmm, she's not going to back down. I guess I should give her something for feeding Miss Fierce._ His smile was back as he contemplated what to tell.

"She's a recent addition to the crew. We met her on the last island, a rather quaint place. My men had a run in with her earlier in the day, and when she turned up at the same bar as me I decided to . . . speak with her."

"Yes, yes go on," she prompted hoping for more details.

"We had a misunderstanding and it ended in a fist fight which attracted the attention of local Navy forces. We ended up working together to escape and she agreed to join my crew as thanks for my help." He finished his greatly abbreviated tale of the events that led to the duo joining the Heart Pirates and rested his head on his hands, his elbows resting on the table's surface.

"That wasn't much of a story." Lady Belladonna said with a pout.

"I'm not much of a story teller," Law replied with a bored shrug.

"That's too bad," she looked around the table again and saw everyone had stopped eating and were merely waiting.

She smiled, they had known it was a trap from the beginning and Law had said as much. They probably planned to get her before she could get them. How cute, but that wasn't how this game was played.

"Finigus I believe that our guests are done eating and that we should start the after dinner entertainment. Don't you agree?"

"I do my Lady," he said with a bow, his hand behind his back.

With that the Heart Pirates sprang up from their seats and charged Lady Belladonna, there were no guards in the room. Law had his sword out and prepared to open his room when the room began to shake.

The Heart Pirates looked around them in confusion while Law and Fierce kept their eyes on the immediate threat still in the room, Lady Belladonna and Finigus.

"I had hoped that you would be able to tell me some amusing stories," she said as she stood from her seat.

"But sadly that is not the case so I had to move the game to the next phase sooner than I would have liked." She took several steps back until she was right beside Finigus.

"I hope you enjoy yourselves as much I will." She finished with a sadistic smile stretched out on her pretty face.

"ROOM!" Law shouted, but it was too late.

Walls began to move, in and out. Some shot up from the floor separating the crew into small groups; several were almost crushed by them. The floor began to rise in some places in others it sank, tearing the red carpet to shreds. One wall rose up and cut Finigus and Lady Belladonna off from any attacks. Doors and hallways appeared or were sealed. It was complete chaos anywhere you looked and all they could do was ride it out and hoped it stopped.

Then their prayers were answered and all was still. Law glanced around and saw he was all alone. The sound of cracking stone told him where Fierce was, but he couldn't hear anything else. There was only one door in his little section and he had no choice but to take it. He could have opened it up with his Room but he might hit one of his men. It wouldn't kill them but it was something he tried not to do. Also he had no knowledge of how this place was constructed and therefore didn't know the possible consequences such an act would have.

The games had begun as Lady Belladonna had said. He'd play her game he'd win to, he thought as he marched forward with a stormy look on his face. He didn't like taking orders and he also didn't like not being in control.

He understood that in battle and in life it was impossible for him to be in complete control, but the same was true for everyone else. That wasn't true here, the Lady was in control and he hated that.

With Fierce

"Fierce will you cut that out!" Shachi shouted.

"You're going to bring the roof down on our heads!" Nick followed up.

They were the ones who had been closest to her when the madness started and had subsequently been trapped with her.

"How do you know it will?" She shot back though she had stopped beating the wall which had started to cave under her relentless assault.

"How do you know it won't?" Nick countered.

In truth he didn't know, but he didn't want to take the chance of causing a cave in with this building's crazy design. The engineer/mechanic in him was curious about the blue prints and really wanted to pick at the designers brain. The pirate in him was angry at being tricked and trapped and wanted to beat the shit of him. He was a little bit tempted to let Fierce wreak havoc.

"But there's no way out but through that wall." She had a good point, since they had been near the center of the room there were no doors or hallways for them to escape through.

"That's true but it's going to take a while for you to get through that way." Shachi pointed out.

Underneath a thin layer of stone the wall was solid steel and unlike stone metal was malleable. It would take her forever to punch her way through and she'd probably hurt herself doing it, her hand was already turning red.

"I don't care I want _**OUT**_!" The last word was roared out in beast speech and she turned back to her previous task with a single mindedness that was a little bit frightening.

This reminded of Shachi and Nick of her reaction when they told her they traveled under water with an air tight door. She hated being trapped and unlike on the submarine there was no door to walk out of and no promise of when they would surface.

They both searched their brains for a way to calm her down when they remembered the Den Den Mushi Law had given her.

Shachi carefully lifted it from her back poach, a task he wouldn't have been able to accomplish if she wasn't so preoccupied, and called Stephen.

"Stephen this is Shachi, can you hear me?"

"_Hsssssssss- _Yes, hello how is everything going over there?" Shachi and Nick shared a sigh of relief.

"Not too good, that Lady Belladonna had one heck of trap waiting for us and we can't get out. Fierce is going nuts and we need to calm her down before she hurts herself or she hurts us." Nick informed him giving Fierce a wary look.

"Oh that's not good, can she at least see outside your cell?" He enquired.

"No we're completely sealed in, four walls, no windows and no bars." He said in a low voice.

Fierce was aware that they were talking but was too far gone to register their words.

"Damn, I'll do what I can but I make no promises. Let me talk to her."

Shachi held the baby transponder snail as close to Fierce as he dared.

"FIERCE! It's your Old Man. Can you hear me?" Fierce slowed and her mind cleared a bit at the sound of voice that had always brought her comfort over the years.

"Old Man?" She turned to Den Den Mushi and took it from Shachi's unresisting hand.

"Yes Fierce it's me and you have to calm down." It was usually best to take the direct approach with her.

"I need to get out! I can't stay here, I have to find her. Find them and kill them." She said in a rush the growl creeping back into her voice.

"No Fierce listen to me, you have to stay in control. You don't want to hurt your new friends do you?" Another good card to play with her, endangerment to her possessions, but one that needed to be used carefully or it would have the opposite effect.

"Friends," she softly, looking at Shachi and Nick.

Were they really hers?

"Of course we're your friends Fierce," Shachi said with a small smile, she could be so dense.

"Why else would we want to hang out with you so much?" Nick asked.

"But your Law's," talk of ownership and claims were proving to be good distractions for her.

"Yeah but you're also a Heart Pirate so in way you're ours and we're yours too." Nick said remembering the conversation he, Cai, Shachi, and Penguin had with Stephen not too long ago.

Fierce paused to think, she hadn't considered that. It wasn't unusual to have group ownership, like she had with her brothers. Though she didn't like the idea of sharing with Law she did like Shachi and Nick. She supposed she could tolerate it.

"Okay," she said as she slumped to the ground.

"That reminds me, you and Stephen are the only ones who don't wear our Jolly Rodger." Shachi broke into the tender moment.

"Huh?" Fierce and Stephen said at the same time.

"It's kind of the uniform; even captain and Bepo wear it." Looking around he spied a piece of cream colored cloth caught between the floor and one of the walls.

He recognized it as what the plates and platters had rested on so they wouldn't mark up the table. He cut a thick strip free with the knife he kept in his boot for emergencies and laid it flat on the ground. While Cai and Fierce watched him he fished out a permanent marker he kept handy in case inspiration struck him and carefully drew the Heart Pirates' mark on the sturdy cloth.

"That should do it we'll take of you later Stephen," he said with a smile as he stood to admire his work.

"Fierce hold your arm out for me."

She blinked once at him but did as she was told. She held out her right arm and Shachi carefully tied the cloth around her bicep and stepped back to get a better look. The pale color stood out nicely against the dark purple of her scaly coat and drew attention to the black Jolly Rodger etched onto it. There'd be no doubt of which crew she belonged to.

"Looks good," he said.

"Yeah you look like a Heart Pirate now," Cai agreed with a wide smile.

Fierce gently touched the band on her arm. Was that all it took to be a Heart Pirate, a symbol? She didn't like that she was wearing Law's mark. But they said that it made her look like a Heart Pirate not that it made her a Heart Pirate. They'd said it themselves that she already was one.

And the Law wasn't what made the Heart Pirates the Heart Pirates. It was all of them together, in that way it wasn't such a bad thing that she was wearing it. She felt a little warm inside.

Then the floor opened up and they all fell through.

"AEEIIIIIIIIIIII . . ."


	19. Authors Note

Author's Note: Technical Difficulties

The next chapter will be delayed because my computer screen is broken and I can't type right now. I'm using someone else's to post this message. I will hand write my chapters until my screen is fixed or I get a new computer. I'm very sorry for the delay.


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